


Victoria Grimes VI: Chaos

by bamby0304



Series: Victoria Grimes [6]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Universe, Character Death, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff, Smut, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-11 22:38:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 107,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16861495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bamby0304/pseuds/bamby0304
Summary: After entering the gates of Alexandria, Victoria was sure her family and friends had found a place where they could finally settle down and become a part of something more. But with problem after problem, danger after danger, they can’t seem to catch a break. But that’s not even the worst of it… not with the biggest big bad on the way…





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old series with multiple chapters... it would take me forever to upload each individually, so the following piece is two long chapters. If you want to read it in separate parts you can find it on my ff.net blog (under the same name).

**Chapter 1**

**Back Together**

**VPOV**

Daryl was the first to move... or maybe he wasn't. I couldn't really remember what happened after my eyes landed on him. All I knew was that I had never seen him look at me like that before. Fear, wonder, worry, confusion, I swear I could even see anger. There were a storm of emotions clouding his eyes, and I had no idea what any of it meant.

"Vic." he dropped his crossbow and moved to me.

I went to shift, to stand again, but hissed in pain as my hand came to rest on my side. Looking down I lifted my shirt to see what damage I might have caused. "Shit."

Michonne had been standing near me, trying to calm the crowd with Abraham as everyone reacted to dad killing Pete, who attacked Reg, who I had just killed. Things were a mess...

Hearing me swear Michonne looked down at me. "Vickie." ignoring the others she crouched down to take a look. "You need to get to the infirmary."

"What happened?" Daryl asked, now kneeling by my side.

"Some of her stitches have torn. She needs to get them fixed up." Michonne told him as she carefully helped me to my feet.

"I'll take her." he wasn't offering, he was telling. Wrapping an arm around me he then pulled me up into his arms so he could carry me. He said nothing else before rushing us out of there.

We were silent as we moved. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling the pain throbbing through every nerve and muscle. It all ached now that the adrenaline was out of my system.

"Daryl!?" Maggie called, coming out of nowhere. She rushed over, looking at me with big, worried eyes. "What happened?"

"Don't know. Just got back." he answered, still hurrying to the infirmary. "Gotta get her fixed up." he told her.

The rest of the way was spent in silence. I could feel and hear Daryl breathing heavily as he held me close to him, running through the town. When his feet landed on the patio of the infirmary I could hear his hard and heavy footsteps pound on the wooden boards.

Maggie rushed ahead. "Tara."

When Daryl got us inside I looked around. Glenn and Nicholas were here as well, bloodied and hurt. Tara was sitting up in bed, finally awake from her coma. Rosita was checking the guys over. Besides Daryl and myself, the others didn't know what had just happened...

"I'm okay." Tara nodded at Maggie. "You should check on them." she gestured to Glenn and Nicholas.

Daryl set me on one of the beds as Rosita rushed over to me. "What happened?" she asked.

I lifted my shirt to show her. "Walkers got in. Gabriel didn't close the gate." I answered as she moved to get the things she needed. "Dad and I killed them. Took them to show the people at the meeting... Pete came." I winced as she started to stitch me up again. "He killed Reg..."

Everyone froze as they turned to me.

"Reg is dead?" Maggie asked. I knew she would be more effected than the others because she'd spent more time with Reg and Deanna than most people.

"Rick killed Pete." Daryl finished for me.

We all fell into silence then. Rosita only stayed still a moment longer before getting back to finishing me off. Once she was done, she moved to Nicholas.

Maggie, who had collected herself, turned to Glenn. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "We were out there. The walkers and... We're all right." when Maggie moved his shirt away from his shoulder she froze again.

I was close to his bed and could see the gun shot as clear as day. "Glenn."

He shook his head. "I got winged by a ricochet." he was lying. Both Maggie and I knew that.

Besides Rosita, we were the only two in the room that knew about what had happened with Nicholas lately. Tara was in a coma and Daryl had been out with Aaron, so neither knew about what had happened on the run that day.

"I gotta go talk to Rick." Daryl drew my attention to him as he spoke. "You gonna be okay?"

"I'll help her get home." Rosita answered as she continued to help Nicholas. "Once I'm done with her I'll take her back to your place."

"Thanks." he nodded before leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead. His hand that I'd been holding since I was set on the bed squeezed mine tightly. "I love you."

Nodding I smiled up at him lightly. "I love you, too."

With a single moment's hesitation, he then let go of my head and walked out the front door.

Not too long after, Eugene walked through the front door and took one look at Tara before a smile grew on his face. "Holy shit."

Tara looked up at him as he moved to her bed. "Thank God. Nothing happened to your hair." she smiled back at him. When he didn't say, or do anything she chuckled and turned to the rest of us. "Okay, Eugene's freaking me out. Somebody want to send Noah in here to protect me?"

All our faces fell...

 

**RPOV**

I walked through my front door and found Morgan sitting at the table eating some food. Daryl stood by him, looking like he was waiting for someone or something. My eyes landed on a map that was set on the coffee table in the liking room. Walking up to the map, I let my fingers run over the words written on it.  _SORRY I WAS AN ASSHOLE. COME TO WASHINGTON. THE NEW WORLD'S GONNA NEED RICK GRIMES._

"You were right." Morgan started. "It wasn't over."

"We should talk more tomorrow." I told him before walking up to the table. "Listen. I don't take chances anymore."

He nodded, seeming to understand. "And you shouldn't."

With that clear I looked to Daryl. "How's Vickie?"

"Rosita's fixin' her up." he answered. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

My eyes glanced at Morgan before I shook my head. "Maybe you should talk to her." was all I said before gesturing at the stairs. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up." needing to get the blood and sweat off me, I walked off.

**DPOV**

I sat on the floor in the living room with Aly leaning against me. We were looking out the window, watching the stars, waiting for Vic to come home. Rick had put Morgan in an empty apartment, locking him in a makeshift cell, just in case. Everyone else had gone to bed. But I couldn't sleep yet. Not until Vic came home.

The sound of people walking on to the porch outside had me get up. Aly stood as well, grabbing her toy deer as she followed me to the front door. It opened a moment before we reached it, showing Rosita and Vic standing outside. I moved quickly, rushing to Vic's side and wrapping an arm around her, to keep her steady, taking her from Rosita.

"She'll be okay. She just needs to rest, heal up. I told her no more fighting for a few more days. Everything is pretty much healing, but she has to be careful." Rosita told me.

I nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem." she gave a little smile. "Night."

Once Rosita was gone I closed the door, before pulling Vic up into my arms. She wrapped an arm around my neck instinctively, as I held her close and protectively. I could tell she was on meds, but she wasn't completely out of it. She was aware that she was in my arms, burying her face in my neck and breathing me in, giving a light hum in contentment. We were both glad to be back together.

Looking down at Aly, I ignored her puppy eyes. "Bed time." all three of us needed rest- especially Vic.

"But, mummy. She's hurt." she argued. I knew she had the best intentions, I knew she was worried about Vic. But like I said, we all needed rest.

Not giving in, I stood my ground. "Aly, you need to go to bed so I can take care of Vic."

Her mouth opened to protest, eyebrows furrowing in a frown, but before she could say a single word, Vic groaned and cut her off.

"Listen to Daryl."

As Vic fell silent again and I gave Aly a knowing and pointed look, the little girl huffed a silent protest as she did what she was told and headed up the stairs to her room. Houdini was right behind, her hand wrapped around his collar. I followed after a while, heading up the stairs and moving us to our room. I closed the door and set Vic on to the bed before crouching down and lifting her shirt to have a look at the stitches.

 

...

 

I'd hardly slept all night. I'd been too worried about Vic, having no idea how she'd gotten hurt. I knew nothing. It made me feel sick to think she'd be in danger while I was gone. If I had known something would happen, I would have stayed or made her come with me.

Vic groaned, slowly opening her eyes before looking up at me. "You're here." she smiled, carefully lifting her hand towards my cheek.

"I'm here." I grabbed her hand, intertwining our fingers.

Closing her eyes again she sighed. "God, these meds are strong."

Looking down at her shirt,,right above where the wound was, I decided it was time she told me everything. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

She opened her eyes, avoiding my gaze as she looked up at the roof, not hesitating with an answer. "The run I went on with Glenn didn't go too well. We missed a walker. When it showed up Aiden shot at it. But he hit some grenades hanging of the its belt. He didn't see them. He didn't know... There was an explosion. Tara hit her head, went into a coma. I got a piece of metal stuck in me. Aiden got pinned to some shelves. We tried to save him but Nicholas ran. Aiden died... Glenn, Noah and myself went after Nicholas. Eugene was with Tara, keeping her safe." she took a deep breath. "We got stuck... Nicholas was selfish and his actions caused Noah to get killed. Glenn and I were still stuck and had to watch as walkers ripped him apart."

My jaw tensed as my fists clenched. I wanted to hit something. I wanted to hit some _one_. Nicholas would do. Hearing Vic tell me what he did, I was surprised he wasn't already in the ground. But he would be, I'd make sure of it.

"Daryl?" she turned her head to look at me, causing me to calm a little and look at her. "I'm okay. We're all okay... I mean, we will be."

She was right. I knew she was. Getting angry at Nicholas now would be stupid. I could see how fragile everything was right now. I could see people wanted our group gone. So, we'd have to keep quiet for now. Let everything work itself out.

Wrapping an arm around her carefully, I held her to my chest, burying my nose into her hair. "Missed you." I pressed a kiss to her neck.

She sighed contently. "I'm glad you're home."

**VPOV**

Maggie was taking care of Glenn, and Carl was out taking Judith for a stroll. Aly had been excited to hear the news about Tara, and had rushed over to see her friend. That left me with Daryl, not that I had a problem with that... he was just being ridiculously over protective and careful, not letting me do anything. We were outside the front of the house, Daryl working on his bike while I was stuck sitting on a crate. As I watched Daryl work away, dad walked out of the house and headed towards us.

"So, he okay with it?" Daryl asked without looking away from the task he was currently working on.

"It was pretty much his idea." dad answered.

I knew they were talking about the guy Daryl and Aaron had brought back. Morgan, I think his name was. Dad had suggested he stay in a 'cell' until we all felt comfortable enough to let him out in the community.

Dad gave a sharp nod. "He gets it."

"It's got a bed and a bath, but it's still a cage, you know?" Daryl noted.

"He gets it." dad repeated. "He told me what happened out there with the trucks."

Daryl got to his feet then, finally looking at dad. "He tell you about those guys he met? With the W's?"

"Like that walker we saw, yeah." dad nodded. "We need more watch points. And I'm gonna tell Deanna, we don't need to go looking for people anymore."

I could tell in an instant that Daryl did not agree. It was just the kind of man he was. Even after everything that had happened to us and our family, Daryl was still willing to give some people a shot. If I was being honest, I felt the same. Maybe it was because of Daryl, or maybe it was me, either way I didn't want to stop looking for others or close our gates to them.

Looking at both Daryl and I, dad asked, "You feel different about it?"

Daryl nodded. "Yeah." he glanced over at me. "We do."

"Well, people out there, they got to take care of themselves, just like us." dad told him, not leaving room for argument before changing the subject. "I'm gonna get him out. Shouldn't leave him in there any longer than we have to." as we went to leave, he turned to me first. "You okay?"

"Fine." I assured him.

"Good." he gave a short nod and then walked off.

Once he was far enough away so it was only Daryl and I, I stood and moved to where Daryl was sill planted on his feet, thinking over what dad had said.

"He's right and he's wrong."

He looked at me confused. "What do you mean?"

"I think we should be looking for people, I know there's still good ones out there that need our help. But..." I shrugged, looking at the ground. "I don't want you leaving me again."

"Won't be." he answered simply.

It was my turn to be confused. "But-"

He shrugged. "I go out those gates, you're comin' with me. Every time. Ain't gonna let something happen to you again."

I gave him a halfhearted smile. "You can't protect me from everything, Daryl."

"Can try."

**RPOV**

I had let Morgan out of his cell, which was just the house I was put in after I'd pulled the gun out at everyone a couple of days ago. We were walking down the street so he could get used to the town and learn about what goes on here.

"Who put up the wall?" he asked.

"They did." I answered. "There was a man, Reg. He drew up plans, made it happen early on. A lot of people in here, they've been inside from the start. They had food, energy, not a whole lot of walkers. They just lived. They haven't had to survive. They figured that out, brought us in." I sighed. "Still might be too late."

"Too late how?"

"For them to come around." I shrugged. "We'll see." turning down the road, I went on. "You'll have to talk to Deanna. She's the woman in charge. She was married to Reg."

"Was?" he asked as he looked around the place.

Before I could say anything more, something caught my eye.

I saw Gabrielle walking around, behind some of the bushes where I knew the dead were buried. I had a gut feeling something was going on, so I walked off, heading in that direction. Morgan followed close behind as we moved around the bushes and found Gabriel digging alongside Tobin- a man from the town who'd I'd only briefly met before.

"What are you doing?" I asked, and they stopped.

"We're..." Gabriel looked like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't- which he had, but I was sure he didn't actually know that. "I wanted to help."

"We only need one." I told them.

Tobin gestured to the bodies. "We have two men here."

"We're not gonna bury killers inside these walls." I noted.

"Look, I understand how you feel. I do." Tobin nodded. "But it's not your decision."

"Tobin." Deanna came out from around the corner. "Rick's right." she walked closer, her words making both men stop working. "Take it away. Go west. Down Branton Road a few miles. Just past the bridge. We don't go out that way. Let the trees have him."

We stayed still and silent as she walked away. Once she was out of sight I moved to Pete's body, Morgan doing the same. He helped me lift it up as Tobin came to help as well- Gabriel continued to dig. The three of us moved around the bushes to a car. Tobin opened the trunk for Morgan and myself before we heaved the body up and inside.

When I saw Morgan looking at the body I explained. "I shot him because he killed Reg. That was it. We didn't have a choice."

"You do have a cell." he pointed out.

I shook my head. "Not for killers."

He looked at me. "I'm a killer, Rick. I am, and you are, too."

I didn't say anything in return. Instead I just slammed the trunk shut.

 

...

 

I followed Morgan as he carried two shovels moving to where we'd laid out the body. I didn't particularly feel right about standing out in the open. We weren't very well prepared, and as much as I knew we could both handle ourselves, I wasn't sure if it was worth the trouble.

"Morgan." I called. He turned to look at me and I shrugged. "Maybe we just leave him here."

"That's not who you are." he shook his head. "I know."

When he turned to keep walking I moved forward. "Hey." he stopped and turned to me again. "You don't." I told him simply.

He gave a short nod before taking the last few steps towards the body and started to dig.

The moment he started I heard something that didn't sound quite right. "Morgan." I called, so he'd stop. But he didn't. "Morgan." I tried again, more firmly. But it was no use. So, I moved and grabbed his shoulder. "Stop." he finally did. "Did you hear that?"

Following the noise, we moved further into the woods until we came to the edge of a cliff. In front of us, down below, was what looked to be some kind of site. Each end was blocked off by two trucks each, and in between those trucks in the large open space was thousands of walkers.

Noise coming from behind had us turn, seeing Jessie's son Ron running away from a few walkers... heading straight for the edge of the cliff.

I moved quickly, running and throwing myself at the kid. We fell to the ground right by the edge. The first couple of walkers fell right over. I spun around and shot the next one coming, and was about to shot the one after that, but Morgan got it first, pushing it over the edge with his cane.

Getting to my feet I stood by Morgan as we looked down at the kid.

**  
**

**Chapter 2**

**The Makings of a Plan**

**RPOV**

Morgan and I stood at the edge of the cliff still, looking down at the walkers as they moaned and groaned and snarled, moving around the large open space. Only there were so many of them there that they could hardly move around.

As Ron came to stand by Morgan, I looked at the kid. "What are you doing out here, Ron?"

"I wanted to know where my dad was buried." he answered.

With an answer, I turned my attention back to the walkers. Looking at the scene before me, things seemed to click into place. "This is how."

"How what?" Morgan asked.

I gestured to the pit. "How the community's still here. They've had walkers at their walls, but a lot of them, maybe most of them, they wound up here."

This was a problem. This was a huge problem. If these walkers got out, they'd be heading straight for Alexandria. By the looks of things some were already slipping through a few cracks.

I turned, seeing Ron walking away. "Ron." he ignored me, so I followed him. "Ron!"

"I'm going back."

"Hey." I sped up.

Without looking back at me, he kept going. "I'm fine."

I grabbed his arm, stopping him. "You shouldn't be here."

"I don't care what you think."

"It's not what I think. It's what I know." I told him. "You can't protect yourself. I'll show you how, but right now, you have no idea what you're doing. And if you come out here, you're gonna die. And it won't be quick and it won't ever be over, 'cause you'll be one of them. That's what's gonna happen." I looked him in the eyes. "You're coming back with us now. Don't make it hard." I warned.

We left then, heading back towards the car. I stuck to the front, keeping a distance between myself and the others. I had to think through the situation at hand, because those walkers were going to be a problem very soon.

I looked over to my right as I walked and saw the shovels Morgan had left by Pete's body. Sighing I thought about leaving them and the body there. But I couldn't, not with Ron here now. So, I veered off the path and moved over to the hole Morgan started, finishing the job.

**VPOV**

Dad and Morgan had come back from burying Pete's body only to come back and tell us about what they'd found. A hoard of walkers like we'd never seen before. So here we were, everyone, trying to figure out what to do in order to keep ourselves safe. We were all gathered n Deanna's living room. Daryl and I were lounging on the day bed, his back against the wall with an arm around my shoulders, while I rested against his chest.

Heath, a guy who'd been gone for the last few weeks and hadn't met my group yet, was telling everyone about the time he saw the herd. "My team, we saw it early on. Back when we were on one of the first scouts, finding out what was around here. There was a camp at the bottom. The people, they must have blocked the exits with one of those tucks back when everything started to go bad. They didn't make it. They were all roamers. Maybe a dozen of them."

"No one's been back since?" Maggie asked form where she sat on a couch between Glenn and Sasha.

Heath shook his head. "D.C. Every town worth scavenging, they're all in the other direction. And I never really felt like having a picnic next to the camp that ate itself."

"So, all the while, the walkers have been drawn by the sound, and they're making more sound, and they're drawing more in." Michonne noted.

Dad nodded. "And here we are." he looked around the crowded room. "Now, what I'm proposing, I know it sounds risky, but walkers are already slipping though the exits. One of the trucks keeping the walkers in could go off the edge any day now. Maybe after one more hard rain. That exit sends them east. All of them. Right at us." he paused, letting everyone take it in before going on. "This isn't about  _if_  it gives, it's  _when_. It's gonna happen. That's why we have to do this soon."

"This is... I don't even have another word for it. This is terrifying." Carol started. "All of it. But it doesn't sound like there's any other way."

A man- who I was pretty sure was called Carter- looked at her as if she were wrong. "Maybe there is." he turned to dad. "I mean, couldn't we just build up the weak spots? I could draw up plans. I worked on the wall with Reg. Construction crew. We can try and make it safe."

Dad shook his head. "Even if we could, the sound of those walkers is drawing more and more every day. Building up the exits won't change that."

Deanna stood by the window, looking out. "We're gonna do what Rick says. The plan he's laid out."

Nodding, dad went on. "I told you all. We're gonna have Daryl leading them away."

Daryl's hand that held mine squeezed. "Vic. She comes."

"Me, too." Sasha added. "I'll take a car, ride next to 'em. It can't just be the two of 'em. I'll keep the walkers coming. Daryl and Vickie keep them from getting sloppy."

"I'll go with her." Abraham spoke up. "It's a long way to white-knuckle it solo."

With that sorted dad looked to everyone else. "We'll have two teams. One each side of the forest helping manage this thing. We're gonna have a few people of watch from now on. Rosita, Spencer, and Holly. So, they're out. So, who's in?"

Michonne shrugged. "Me."

"I'm in." Glenn nodded.

Gabriel raised his hand. "I'd like to help as well."

"No." dad didn't even hesitate. "Who else? We need more."

"There's got to be another play." Carter was just not listening. "We can't just control that many."

I rolled my eyes and looked away as dad responded. "I said it before. Walkers herd up. They'll follow a path if something's drawing them. That's how we can get 'em all at once."

"So, what?" Carter started again. "We're supposed to just take your word for it? We're all supposed to just fall in line behind you, after you-"

"After what?" I asked, cutting him off and turning to face him. My tone held warning, causing Daryl to squeeze my shoulder as a light warning. He didn't want me doing anything that would get me hurt.

Carter looked to me. "After he waved a gun around, screaming, pointing it at people." he looked to my dad. "After you shoot a man in the face. After-"

I pulled my knife out of its sheath and stabbed it into the wall next to me. Everyone jumped as I stood and glared at the man. "Listen up, asshole. We have been through enough shit to know what we're doing. So, shut up. Because unlike you, we know what we're talking about."

"She's right Carter." I looked over, seeing Deanna now facing Carter, standing strong.

Everyone stood there in silence. I wasn't sure if they were just shocked, if they were scared, or if they were protesting against my dad. Either way it took a moment before someone finally spoke.

"I'll do it." Heath offered.

"Me, too." Francine- a woman who worked construction with Abraham- added.

"Whatever you need." Tobin nodded- he was the former leader of the construction crew. "I'm in."

"Now who else?" Deanna pressed.

I looked around, seeing Glenn looking right at Nicholas, shaking his head. I knew what had happened between the two. I knew Nicholas had tried to kill him. I hadn't said anything... yet. But I would. I just needed to get some more facts, and wait until the mess with Pete and Reg was over. I was pretty sure there was no way people would jump at the idea of kicking Nicholas out, and killing him... That wouldn't end well either. So for now, I just had to wait.

Nicholas ignored Glenn. "I'll go." he raised his hand before shrugging. "We have to do this. I need to help."

Dad looked to Glenn before turning back to Nicholas. "You sure you can handle it?"

"You need people." was all he had to say.

Dad nodded before going on. "We'll make this work. We'll keep this place safe, keep our families safe. We will."

"The plan." Carter spoke up again. "Go through it again."

"Man, he just said it." Daryl was clearly as agitated as I was.

But Carter didn't care. "Every part again. The exact plan."

**RPOV**

I stood out on the porch, outside Deanna's house with Deanna herself, Carter, Morgan, and Michonne. We were going over the plan again. Making sure every detail every move, was perfectly laid out. "Marshall and Redding." I pointed to the map that sat on the table in front of me. " We force them west here."

"How?" Deanna asked.

I shrugged. "We block it off so they can only go one way, west, away from the community."

"Block it off with what?" Carter wasn't exactly faithful in our abilities, but I understood... didn't mean I liked it, but I understood.

"Cars." I answered. "We'll use the RVs, some of the bigger trucks, park 'em end-to-end."

"We'll be drawing them away." Michonne noted. "They're gonna keep moving."

"Yeah, but that many? Just bouncing off some sedans?" Carter looked at us like we were insane. "And then, when they start slipping through, and the ones that walk away start distracting the rest, and you stop drawing them away?"

"The man's got a point." Heath noted.

"We got plate." Eugene spoke up out of nowhere, heading towards us. "The big-ass metal ones from the construction site. We could use them to fortify the whip wall. It'll help disperse the force of impact and direct the walkers clean. Like a pool table. Eight ball, corner pocket."

"That's an army out there." Carter argued. "And what happens when this doesn't hold, and they push on through? The curve in this hillside is gonna send them right back east. Right back here." he pointed to where Alexandria sat on the map. "You seriously want to risk that?"

"You said you worked with Reg." we all turned, seeing Vickie leaning against the doorway that led into Deanna's house. She shrugged, moving towards the table, looking directly at Carter. "You said you could help with the weak spots at the walker pit. So why not help with the weak spots on the walker trail?"

He looked at her and then down at the map.

But before he could say anything Morgan spoke up. "These walls, you built them." he noted, nodding to the walls surrounding the community. "So, you've already done the impossible."

We all turned back to look at Carter. He still looked unsure of the whole plan. The fact that he would now be a crucial part of it clearly didn't sit right with him.

"Carter." Deanna looked at him pleadingly. "Please."

**VPOV**

Once Carter agreed to help, he, dad and Eugene began to work on more plans. Which meant Deanna was free to talk to me, like she'd asked. It's why I'd stuck around. After dad's meeting, she had pulled me to the side and asked me to wait. So here I was, sitting on her couch like the day we'd all arrived here. Only this time, when she sat across from me, there was no camera rolling.

"I want your help."

I shrugged. "Anything you need."

"I want you to work with Maggie and myself. I want you to help lead Alexandria."

"Nope." I shook my head, getting off the couch, starting for the door. "No thanks."

"Vickie, please." the sound of desperate need in her voice was the only reason why I came to a stop. With my back facing her she went on. "I knew from the moment I saw you that you would do great things. I see more than you realize. I know you tried to save Aiden... Even though you were hurt. And then you killed those walkers with your father. You risked your life to help this community."

"I did what anyone else would have done."

I heard her get to her feet before moving towards me. When she stood in front of me she shook her head. "We both know that's not true. Most of the people here would have run. Would have screamed. They would have gotten us all killed."

Sighing I looked away. "That doesn't mean I'm leader material."

"Really? I asked Maggie if it would be a good idea. She told me about everything you've done. You fought to save her family's farm. You and Daryl risked your lives day after day, looking for people and resources. You saved your group from very bad people time and time again. You did everything you could to save her sister..."

"I'm not the only one who did those things."

She nodded. "You're right. But when I look at your group, I see two extraordinary women who are fit to lead in both this world and the one before. A lot has been taken away from Maggie. You've all lost a lot. But you've lost more of  _yourself_  than most in your group. These things do not keep you from living. It motivates you."

I looked at her then, my eyes now tearing up. "I appreciate the offer. I really do. But you have the wrong person." I told her before pushing past and leaving her house.

Wiping at my eyes I headed home, needing to be with my own people. Needing to calm myself after a reminder of all I'd been through since the world had turned to shit.

**DPOV**

Rick had organized a large group of people to help build a wall that would block the walkers from heading to Alexandria. It was Carter's idea, which I hadn't trusted at first. But after it was all explained, I decided to take it on faith.

Pushing a wheelbarrow full of sand, I headed to Rick where he was kneeling on the ground, filling bags up with sand. "Hey, what you said before, about us need to take care of ourselves." I started, causing him to look up. "Going out, finding more people, that is taking care of ourselves." I dumped the sand. "Your call, though." I told him before walking off.

I didn't make it far before he called me back. "Daryl."

Turning I left the wheel barrow where it was before walking to him again. "Yeah?"

"On the day, when you go out in front of the herd on your bike. Are you sure you can keep Vickie safe?"

I was shocked. Over the years, Rick had hardly questioned my ability to take care of his daughter. At first he had, but that was when he didn't know me. When we'd found her at the prison he'd been worried, but that was because he'd just got her back. Once he figured out there was nothing to be concerned about, he didn't worry about Vic as much. Looking at him now, I was sure I'd never seen him look so unsure about leaving his daughter with me.

"What makes you think she'll be safe if she stays behind?"

He nodded. "You have a point."

I shrugged. "If she wants to go, no one can stop her. And if she wants to stay-"

"No one can stop her." he sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"Water?" we both looked behind him to see Carol offering us both some water.

"Thanks." Rick nodded, taking one of the plastic cups.

Before I could grab the other it was taken out of Carol's hand. Vic had rushed over without a sound and taken it in an instant.

"Thank you." Vic looked up at me as she took a sip, her eyes grinning.

"Any good?" I grunted.

Lowering the cup, she nodded, looking at me with her cheeky grin. "Amazing."

I shook my head, taking the cup from her before finishing the rest of the water. Once I was finished she took the cup away and followed me as I headed back to the wheelbarrow.

"Don't you got stuff to do?" I asked. Though I didn't actually want her to go.

She shrugged. "I was helping, but Maggie doesn't want me hurting myself again. So now I have nothing to do, and I can't go home until everyone else does."

"Keep me company?"

She smiled. "Thought you'd never ask."

**VPOV**

I'd grabbed a basket of sandwiches from the car and started handing them out to everyone as they worked. As much as I would have preferred to be digging holes or filling sand bags I knew it was too risky with my stitches. So being the lunch girl was as good as it was going to get.

I moved over to where I saw Maggie headed towards Tara. Needing some time with friends I decided a little break would be okay.

"He got Noah killed?" I heard Tara ask as Maggie reached them. Looking in the direction that she was I saw that she was looking at Nicholas as he worked alongside Glenn.

"He did." Maggie answered.

I came to stand with them. "That's not all he did."

Tara looked at Maggie and I as Maggie explained. "He lured Glenn into the woods and tried to kill him."

Tara's jaw dropped. "What the hell?"

"Yep." I sighed, pulling out two sandwiches and handing them one each.

Maggie took one from me. "Glenn told me I could tell everyone if that's what I wanted to do. Could get Nicholas exiled. He'd die out there." Maggie kept looking at Nicholas. "Could have done that. You could do that now." she turned to Tara and myself.

"He got Noah killed and then tried to kill Glenn?" Tara was furious.

"He deserves a lot more than just exile." I noted, looking at the guy in question.

"Glenn saves people. Even people like that." Maggie told us, reminding me of the nature of one of my friends. "I couldn't accept it either. But then I thought about you." she looked to Tara. "How we were on different sides of that fence on the worst day of my life. And now you're one of the most important people in the world to me." she nodded. "Things can get better. We can make them better. So, you tell me what you want to do." she then looked at me. "And you tell me if you're really sure about your choice."

"I'm uh, I'm just gonna follow your lead." Tara told her. "Okay?"

Maggie nodded and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "I'm sorry." when she pulled away Tara looked at me for a moment before taking her sandwich.

I looked at my two friends. I saw Maggie, my best friend, someone I trusted completely. She had always been there for me, even when she didn't know me. I saw Tara, the girl who'd taken care of my daughter like she was family. She'd been supportive, understanding, and a god friend since we first met. Looking over at Glenn I felt a small smile form on my lips. He could have left me on that highway that first day we met. He could have just driven past without a care. I would have died if it wasn't for him. I owed him my life.

He looked up at that moment and turned to look at the three of us. His eyes landed on mine and it was like he knew what was going on. It felt like he was asking me not to do it, for him.

Sighing I nodded. "I won't say anything."

Two sets of arms pulled me into a hug as both Tara and Maggie held me.

**  
**

**Chapter 3**

**Have Some Hope**

**RPOV**

We'd been working on the wall for a week now. The progress was going really well. By the end of today it would be finished, and then we'd be ready to get everything rolling. Tomorrow we'd do a dress rehearsal, make sure everyone knows what they're doing. Then, the day after that, we'd set everything in motion.

I walked up to Deanna as she headed for me. When we met up I looked at her, needing to get something off my chest. "I haven't had the chance to say it yet, but I'm sorry about Reg. He was smart and kind. He was a good man." I exhaled, looking at the work we'd done on the fence so far. "It was the right call. We need this.

"What else?" when I didn't speak she pressed. "You need to tell me."

"People need to be armed inside the walls. They need to be trained. Everyone." before I could go on, the sound of a twig snapping caught my attention. Deanna went to move, but a grabbed her arm. "Stop. Here they come." I looked at the people working on the fence. "Carter, heads up."

Just like that, a few walkers started to come out of the tree line. All the people from my group rushed over, ready to defend everyone, because we all knew the others couldn't defend themselves. But I stopped them. I needed everyone to learn this lesson.

I saw Daryl lift his crossbow. "Hey. Don't." I shook my head at him.

Vickie, who was beside him, lowered her knife that she'd been ready to throw. "What are you doing, dad?"

I just turned to the others. "Use your shovels. The guns will draw more."

They all turned to me and my people, fear in their eyes.

But I didn't want anyone helping them. If they really wanted to survive, then they were going to have to learn how to defend themselves. Things go wrong, they always do, and chances are we'd all be out here again one day. With the walkers. When that time came, everyone needed to know how to do whatever they had to do to survive.

"Help us." Carter called.

"You can do this. You need to. All of you!" I told them.

But watching, seeing them push and shove the walkers away while they backed away, colliding with the fence and almost slipping down the slope they stood on... it was not looking good.

Morgan was the first to move.

"Morgan, don't!" I called, but he ignored me. Just like that, one by one my group moved forward.

**VPOV**

Lifting my knife, I ran forward, rushing to the first walker I saw. Morgan was right to have moved to help them, but dad was also right by making the others fight for themselves. It hadn't really mattered anyway, I'd been watching. I could see how it was going to end. Which is why I was already moving onto my next walker.

Michonne, Rosita, Glenn, Maggie and dad had moved forward to help as well, seeing that the others couldn't do it themselves. We got the majority down pretty easily. One moved towards me as I pushed a guy out of the way. Lifting my knife, I went to kill it, but an arrow pierced its head before I could.

"Behind you!"

I wasn't sure who'd said it, but either way I spun on my heels and dug my knife into the head of a walker who had in fact being behind me ready to bite. With the last one down by my hand, I turned to everyone else. All eyes were on me. It was dad who had tried to get them to see. But it was me they'd been watching.

"Walkers, will kill you. People, will kill you.  _Everything_ wants to kill you. So, unless you fight..." I pulled my knife out of the walker's head. "You. Will. Die." I told them before wiping some walker blood off my forehead and walked away.

**RPOV**

Once Vickie walked off I felt all eyes turn to me. But I set mine on Morgan. He'd moved first. He'd taken this lesson away from the others.

"You said you don't take chances anymore." was all he said.

I walked off, moving to follow my daughter before she could get too far. When I finally caught up I found her standing by a tree, using her jeans to wipe the blood off the blade of her knife.

"You were right and you were wrong." she spoke before I could. "They need to learn how to defend themselves. But you don't throw a child into the ocean to teach them how to swim." she looked up at me for a moment before she looked down at her knife and started to clean it again. "You want them to learn, you show them how. Don't leave them there to drown."

"I don't think it'll help. Not with how long these people have been sheltered." I noted, my hands on my hips. "They haven't had to survive like us."

"Do you remember my first day of high school?"

"Yeah." I nodded, confused.  _What does this have to do with anything?_

"I came back with a black eye and split lip." she smiled slightly, looking down the road. "I'd told you that it was because I'd joined some kind of sports team. But it was a lie. There were a group of girls who hated me the moment they saw me. I don't know why, they just did. And for the next few years I would come home day after day with some kind of injury."

Those memories weren't things you easily had been hard to watch, to see my daughter clearly struggling. In the beginning there hadn't been much to see, but things just got worse and worse. Seeing Vickie come home day after day, sore, tears running down her face. Sometimes she'd be missing some things, sometimes her clothes would be torn. That's when Lori and I stepped up. That's when we finally went to the school and sorted it all out.

"I remember. Your mother and I figured out what was happening."

"Do you remember what you told me?"

"I wanted to know why you weren't defending yourself."

"Do you remember what I told you?" when I shook my head she went on. "They were bigger than me. They knew how to fight, and I didn't. I knew I couldn't start something that I wouldn't be able to finish." she put her knife away. "But look at me now."

I looked at her, up and down, taking it all in. A picture of her flashed in my mind. Dressed in white jeans and a blue top, her hair and makeup done, pretty shoes on her feet. She'd been fragile, and vulnerable. She'd been weak before everything happened.

But now she stood in combat boots. With long, tight, dark, ripped jeans on and a long sleeve, unbuttoned, navy blue shirt with a grey tank underneath. Her hair was pulled up without a care, her face still had some blood on it, and a knife sat tucked into its sheath on her belt. She'd been kidnapped, tortured, and in more fights than I could count. She'd fought and killed both walkers and humans... She'd changed.

"Don't tell me there's no hope for these people, when I've turned out like this." she told me before walking off.

I watched her go, thinking about what she'd said. Did she have a point? Was she right? Could these people be helped? Did we all have a chance?

**DPOV**

After we'd all gotten back Aly had found Vic and myself, choosing to tag along as we followed Rick and Morgan to the armory. Houdini walked on my other side, never too far from us.

The day had been long, there weren't a lot of hours left in the day, and if we wanted to be ready for tomorrow we still had to do quite a bit. We needed to sort out what would be getting used on the day we tackled the walker pit problem for starters. What guns, walkies and other equipment we might need. It was going to be a big job, so the better prepared we were, the smoother thing would run... in theory.

"Sam wouldn't play today." Aly sighed.

Vic- who held the little girl on her hip- shrugged. "You know he just lost his dad. He's hurting, sweetie."

Aly nodded, leaning her head on Vic's shoulder, falling silent. She focused on Morgan then, watching as he walked a few steps in front of us. "Who's that?" she whispered so only Vic and I heard her.

"That's Morgan." Vic answered. "He's Rick's friend. He helped get Daryl and Aaron home safely too."

Lifting her head, Aly looked to Vic. "He did?" when Vic nodded, Aly put her head back down as she turned to Morgan again. "Thank you." she squeaked out shyly.

Morgan turned and smiled at her. "You're very welcome." when Aly hid her face in Vic's hair Morgan turned to Vic and myself. "You have a beautiful daughter."

Vic smiled up at me. "We know."

Aly hadn't called me dad, or anything like that. Vic was mum, or mummy, to her. But I was just Daryl. I didn't mind though. I don't think I'd make a good father anyway. Didn't have a good one myself, so I wouldn't know where to start. But I still cared for Aly, and loved her like she was family. She  _was_  my family. She was just as important to me as the rest of our family.

We walked towards the door of the brownstone where we kept all our food, and our weapons. Rick moved first, reaching for the door as Morgan stood behind him, Vic and I at the back of our small group. When the door opened, we all froze.

Eugene was on the ground, looking up at Carter who pointing a gun at his head.

Vic put Aly on the ground. "Go home, sweetie." was all she had to say before the little girl ran off, Houdini right behind her.

"What the hell's going on?" Rick looked from Carter to Olivia the pantry woman, Spencer, Tobin, another townswoman, and Eric. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking this place back from you." Carter answered, his voice only shaking a little.

"That's what you were talking about in here?" Rick stepped forward, looking at the others.

Spencer was the one to answer. "That's what  _he_  was talking about."

Rick nodded, not responding right away as he continued to look to each person. "See, I would have set up some lookouts." he looked to Carter again. "That would have been the smart thing. You know, if I happened to-" with a few quick moves he took the gun from Carter and had the guy on the ground, barrel now pressed to Carter's head. "You really think you're gonna take this community from us? From Glenn? From Michonne? From Vickie? From Daryl? From me? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

Visibly shaking with fear, Carter opened his mouth to speak. "It was just me." he whispered.

Rick didn't hear him. "What?"

"It was just me." he spoke up. "Just... Just kill me."

Rick stood there, and I could see he was thinking about it. I could see he wanted to. Not just because the guy had threatened one of our own, but because he was weak, and would drag us all down with him.

But he couldn't do it. Not if we all wanted to live here peacefully.

"Rick."

He looked up at me. "I'm good." he pulled the gun away. "I'm good." he assured us as he gave the gun over to me before looking down at Carter. "You can try working with us. You can try to survive. Would you do that?"

Carter nodded, still clearly scared. "I'll try."

"Good." with that Vic stepped towards Eugene. "Let's get you cleaned up." she offered him her hand.

He took it, still shaken up. Once he was on his feet he followed her as she lead him back to the front door.

Before they left she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "I'll see you at home." she gave me a small smile and then left, knowing Eugene would stay right behind her.

**VPOV**

Eugene and I had gone back to the house he shared with half our people. I'd found Aly there, talking to Glenn, Tara and Abraham about what she'd seen at the pantry. She was worried about Eugene, I knew that, but with the look in Abraham's eyes I'd suddenly hoped she hadn't said anything.

"Where is he?" Abraham asked, stepping up to me and Eugene.

I shook my head. "Dad dealt with it, it's fine, really."

Eugene nodded. "Rick dealt with the situation accordingly." I could tell he was still a little freaked, but he was trying not to be.

Abraham looked from Eugene to me and then back, seeming unconvinced. I knew he had faith that my dad could handle things, but he was still pretty protective when it came to Eugene, and that sometimes meant he was a little blind.

"We've got bigger things to worry about than some idiot." I noted, trying to calm Abraham down. "We've got two days before we're doing this walker thing. Pretty sure that's more important."

At the mention of the walker herd, Aly stepped up to me, grabbing my shirt. "I don't want you to go."

I understood why she was so scared. I could see why she'd be this way, even after everything we'd been through- though our past probably didn't help her anxiety either. But it didn't matter if she was worried or scared. Everyone knew there were things to get done. I couldn't stand back and let others do all the dirty work just so I could keep my daughter at peace.

"I'll be fine, sweetie." I assured her. "Daryl will take care of me."

Having a distraction from the drama with Eugene and Carter, Abraham looked down at the little girl with a kind smile. "Don't you worry yourself little girl. I'll keep your mum safe. She'll be right next to me all day. Nothing'll touch her."

I couldn't help but smile myself.

Having Aly around helped keep people soft. Being too hard was dangerous. So seeing the affect she had on a man like Abraham, made things a little better. Seeing a grown, tough solider, go soft and sweet for a little girl, would melt the heart of anyone.

Aly looked up at him. "You promise?"

Abraham gave a sharp nod. "Cross my heart."

My smile widened, and I noticed how Tara, Glenn and Eugene were smiling as well as we watched the exchange between the little girl and grown man.

Seeming pleased with Abraham's answer, Aly turned to me. "Can we go play now?"

"Sure." I nodded, letting her grab my hand and turn us towards the door. But before we left I looked to Abraham. " _Thank you._ " I mouthed before walking out of the house.

**RPOV**

After what had happened with Carter and the others I'd gone home. The guns and weapons could be sorted out later. I wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with people at that moment. So, I'd gone back, showered, changed, and grabbed Judith from Carl- he'd been watching her for me while I was working all day. Walking out on to the porch I headed for Morgan as he sat on the porch steps, cleaning his stick.

He looked up at me. "It's nice out."

"Yeah." I looked around.

"Hope you don't mind. I wanted to enjoy the evening a little, and I don't have a porch over there, so..." he gestured in the direction of the place we'd had him staying in.

Nodding I pulled out the key to his 'cell'. "Get you stuff." I threw the key and he caught it. "You should stay with us, over here."

"You got room?"

"We'll make it." I offered. "We don't need to do that anymore." I nodded towards the brownstones where the cell was. "I know you, Morgan. Even if this is the first time." he smiled before his eyes fell on Judith. "Do you wanna hold her?"

He hesitated before chuckling lightly, nodding. "Okay." putting his stick to the side he got to his feet and moved towards us.

"Honey, this is Morgan." I told Judith as I handed her over. "He's a friend of mine."

"Hey." he smiled at her. "Hi."

Smiling I watched as he moved back to sit on the steps with her in his arms. I joined him, looking at my baby girl.

"You were with that man, Carter, in the armory. That's you." he started, turning to me. "You're still the same man I met in King County. The one that came back and told me it wasn't over. That was you. Same you that's right in front of me, right now."

"I wanted to kill him." I looked away, out at the street. "So it would be easier. So I wouldn't have to worry about how he could screw up, or what stupid thing he'd do next because that's who he is. Just somebody who shouldn't be alive now." I sighed. "I wanted to kill him. But all that hit me, and I realized I didn't have to do it." I looked straight ahead. "He doesn't get it. Somebody like that... They're gonna die no matter what."

 

...

 

Later that night I went back to the armory. I knew I had to get everything sorted. Tomorrow we were doing a dry run of the plan before everything would be going down the day after that. When I walked through the front door, I had not expected to find Jessie working. It almost had me turn around and leave. But I knew I should stay, get what I came for... and talk to her.

"Hey." she turned to look at me at the sound of my voice. "I was just getting more flares for tomorrow." I explained.

She didn't move at first, just watched me. But then she did turn, reached on o the shelf and grabbed a box before she handed it over to me. The fact she stayed silent made me think I should go, and leave her be. But I found words coming out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

"I know I haven't... I just thought it might be best if I let things be for a while." I explained.

She nodded. "Ron told me what happened."

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that. He shouldn't have been out there."

She cut me off before I could go one. "No, he shouldn't have. You're right. But you can't talk to him like that, Rick. You can't touch him. Not you."

"Ron needed to hear every word I said. That's why I grabbed him. I wasn't angry. I was just telling him the truth."

She put down her clipboard before placing her hand son her hips with a sigh. "If it's coming from you, he can't hear it. You got to understand that."

I nodded, but went on. "He needed to know how to handle himself. I can teach him. I..." I reached for one of the guns. "I can teach... You need to know how."

When I turned my attention back to her I could see a gun in her hands. "Rick. When I found out we could have them, I asked Rosita to start showing me how. Okay. She's gonna teach me, and I'm gonna teach Ron, and I'm gonna teach Sam." she put the gun away. "Look, I heard what you were saying to us at the meeting, and at my house before, you know. I am gonna fight, Rick."

Watching her I could see she meant it. I could see she was ready to do everything and anything.

So, I simply nodded and put the gun back down before I looked at her one last time and then left.

**VPOV**

I walked out of the bathroom attached to the bedroom with only a towel wrapped around me. Pulling my wet hair up and out of my face I smiled at Daryl as he stood by the window, looking out at the street.

Moving closer I wrapped my arms around him, pressing my cheek against his back. "You have no idea how much happier I am with you around."

He turned in my arms, wrapping his own around me. "Don't have to worry about that no more." there was a tone in his voice that I couldn't quite read.

Stepping back and out of his arms, I moved to the dresser to get dressed. As I looked for some clothes, I spoke up. "You wanna tell me what's going on in that head of yours Mr Dixon?"

He leaned against the wall by the window, watching me, chewing on his thumb nail. "You think you're ready? You really wanna help Rick with his plan?"

I shrugged. "It's not like I'll be doing much. I'll be on the back of your bike, watching for any problems." slipping some grey cotton underwear on as I watched him through the mirror. "I thought you wanted me to go."

He pushed himself off the wall and moved towards me. I watched and waited to see what he was doing, being completely surprised when he tugged on my towel, causing it to fall to the ground before he placed a hand below where I was still hurt.

"Don't want you gettin' hurt."

I was covered in scars... The first one was from when I'd been accidentally shot by Otis. The next few were by Jason, who'd cut me in several places with my own knife after he'd tricked me into his camp. Then there was one from when I'd got shot by the Governor's people. Another from when I'd been shot by accident when I was sick at the prison. This last wound was just going to be another scar.

"I'm already hurt." it came out as a whisper as I looked at my reflection, eyes scanning all the marks.

He sighed. "If you wanna go, then I can't stop you-"

"You're right." I cut him off before letting him go on.

"But if you wanna stay... no one will blame you."

My eyes flicked up to his as I watched him take in all of my scars. Turning in his arms I gave him a small smile. "I go where you go, remember?"

**  
**

**Chapter 4**

**Here Comes the Parade**

**VPOV**

A group of us stood on the road, listening to dad as he took us through the plan. Today we were doing a simple test run. Walking the road, so we'd know where to go. Checking out the walkers so we'd know what we're doing. Everyone else was still back home, but the people who'd be working tomorrow were here, getting themselves ready.

"All right, this is the finish line." dad gestured up at the balloons we stood by. "When we make it to green, we fall back. The ditches and ridges will keep them on the road. We head home, let Daryl, Vickie, Sasha, and Abraham take them the rest of the way. Twenty miles more." he told everyone before turning. "All right, let's go."

Daryl- who had his arm around me- held me back as everyone walked off. I looked up at him with question in my eyes, wanting to know what he was doing. "You okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "Fine... Why?"

He shrugged. "Just makin' sure."

I sighed, seeing right through his mask. "I tell you what. If today doesn't work out. If we get back and I'm too sore, I won't come tomorrow. I'll stay back home, bake some cookies, take care of Aly, and be a perfect housewife. That what you want?"

He gave me a knowing look. "Cookies?"

"Would you rather something savoury?"

Rolling his eyes, he gestured to the others. "Come on."

Grinning I took the lead, knowing he was only one step behind me as we followed the group.

**MPOV**

Deanna and I stood in and open space, just outside the gate. I carried two shovels, one for her and one for myself. With most of our workers out dealing with the walker situation I felt it might be a good idea to do a few things as well.

"We got some panels to put up, but we don't have to wait to start growing things." I told her. "There will be some sore back and tired feet. That's how you know you've put in a hard day's work." pulling out a packet from my back pocket I shrugged before handing it to her. She looked down at it without saying a word. "They found crates of these at a nursery just a few miles out. Tomatoes, carrots, you name it. We can plant them right here." I looked around. "Just need to finish the expansion and the wall needs to go up." I turned to her. "Reg wanted this community to grow. You did, too. Has that changed?"

She still didn't answer. She hadn't actually spoken to many people since that night... the two people she seemed most willing to talk to were Rick and Vickie. I understood that she could see Rick was right now, and so she was willing to learn off him. But Vickie was another story.

Now that Deanna could see the mistakes she'd been making she was more set on getting Vickie to join us and help lead the community. But like I'd told her, Vickie wasn't interested.

It would take a lot, something huge, before she would take charge. She was confident, and had the skills, but she believed she belonged on the sidelines. She'd been that way since I met her, even though she'd done things most people couldn't. She'd done things a leader could.

I offered Deanna a small smile. "Everyone that's here is here because of you. You need to show them you're still here." I offered her the shovel.

She hesitated a moment, but took eventually took it from me.

**VPOV**

We all stood by a tractor shop which was filled with walkers inside.

Dad nodded at the building. "We're gonna take 'em right past here. All that noise could distract them. We'll clear it on our way back tonight." he told us before moving on. "We don't want any surprises tomorrow."

I went to follow the others but stopped when I saw Glenn pulling Nicholas to the side. I stood back and watched, listening to the two. "I'll catch up." I told Daryl. He hesitated a moment, but didn't ask questions as he started to follow the others, leaving me there to watch my friend.

"Hey, what you've done, you're gonna sit with it a while, 'cause I don't want you out here tomorrow. You're not ready. You will be." Glenn shrugged. "Sometime soon, I'll make sure of it. And then you start to make it right."

Nicholas nodded. "Thank you."

With nothing left to say, Glenn moved around him, ready to leave. But he stopped when his eyes landed on me. Sighing he headed over.

I waited until he stood next to me before moving to follow the others. "You really think you wanna go there?"

"Where?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Glenn. He's a ticking time bomb." I looked around us, keeping an eye out. "He got Noah killed. He left Aiden for dead. You really think trying to fix him is worth the trouble? It would be so much easier with him gone."

He looked at me. "If you really believed that you would have told Deanna or Rick what you know by now."

A grin formed on my lips. "And what do I know, exactly?"

"I know you know he lured me out into the woods and tried to kill me. You knew the moment you saw us in the infirmary."

He was right. But I'd told Maggie I wouldn't say anything to anyone, so I wouldn't. I hadn't even said anything to Daryl. Keeping a secret like this, it was stupid, dangerous, and wrong. But if I told anyone, Nicholas would be exiled, and part of that guilt would land on Glenn. I couldn't do that to him... So, I was just going to play dumb.

I shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He laughed lightly. "Yeah, right."

I just turned to him, both of us smiling. We walked side by side in silence after that, just enjoying each other's company, and following the others.

**DPOV**

Rick climbed on to one of the vehicles by the trucks. We'd driven here earlier and headed down the road to follow the path we'd be taking the walkers, before heading back. Now that we were here, he had just a few more things to say, and then we'd be off.

Vic came to stand next to me, her head resting on me as my arm wrapped around her. She'd been walking with Glenn, but I'd kept my eye on her. I was pretty sure I'd never be taking my eyes of her again.

"I know this sounds insane, but this is an insane world." Rick started. "We have to come for them before they come for us. It's that simple." he looked down at the walkers before turning to the rest of us again. "This is where it all starts tomorrow. Tobin gets in the truck, opens the exit, and we're off. He hops out, catches up with his team at red, staying on the west side of the road. Daryl and Vickie get on the bike-"

Before he could go on the sound of an explosion caught everyone's attention. We watched the pit, seeing rocks give way. One of the trucks on the other side fell, and with that, the plan changed.

"It's open!" Rick yelled. "We gotta do this now! We're doing this now!" he jumped off the truck.

Vic grabbed her gun, aiming it for the gap between the trucks we stood by where a few walkers were pressing to get out. I stood by her, crossbow ready, aimed at the first walker that was already trying to push through. Everyone else ran around, getting themselves prepared for what was about to happen.

"Sasha! Abraham!" Ricked called.

"Damn straight. We'll do it live!" Abraham rushed to one of the cars, Sasha right behind him.

"You meet Daryl and Vickie at red." Rick told them. "Let 'em take 'em through the gauntlet."

"Yeah, we meet at red." Sasha nodded before the two got in the car and drove off.

"Rick, I'll hit the tractor place." Glenn offered.

"Okay. Who else?" Rick yelled over the noise of everything and everyone.

Vic sighed, lowering her gun. "I gotta go."

I looked at her for a split second before turning to the walkers again. "No."

"Glenn needs help." she rested a hand on my arm. "We have to clear that store."

She was right. I knew she was. But I didn't like it... If she went with Glenn it meant she was gone. That was it. She'd be stuck with the others, while I left to lead the walkers away. She'd have to go back home without me. I'd have no way of making sure she was safe. I would have no way to take care of her.

But like I said, she was right.

Sighing I lowered my crossbow and turned to her. I pulled her to me and pressed myself against her as our lips met in a hard and heavy kiss.

When I pulled back I looked down at her. "Don't do anything stupid."

She gave a short nod. "You too."

With one last quick kiss, I felt part of myself break as she rushed off, following Glenn, Nicholas and Heath.

**RPOV**

"Rick, this was supposed to be a dry run." Carter was in my face. He was not ready for this, I could see it. But he didn't realize that we had no choice now.

"Daryl, get ready." I called.

"They're comin'!" he warned, crossbow aimed at the walkers.

"Rick, we haven't even gone through the whole plan." Carter yelled.

"You want to go back, go back. We're finishing this!" I told him before turning away. "Tobin, you hit it on my signal! They're heading for home! We don't have a choice! Get ready to hit the flares!" I watched, making sure everything and one was in place before nodding. "Now!"

Four flares were set off, getting the walkers attention.

"Tobin, hit the truck!" I ordered.

He moved it forwards, opening a space up for the walkers to move forward. As they began to pile through, we all knew this was it. Now or never. If we failed, no one would make it.

**VPOV**

As we ran along the road I heard dad through Glenn's walkie talkie.

" _You all have your assignments. You know where to rendezvous. Daryl leads them out. Sasha and Abraham join him at the bottom of the hill. Glenn, you hit us when you take care of the walkers at the tractor place. That's the one thing we gotta get ahead of. Everybody, keep your heads... Just keep up_."

I stopped, aiming my flare gun at the sky before pulling the trigger. Each one of us had a flare gun. We were to use it to keep the walkers on track.

Still running I made sure I stayed with Glenn and the others. My side was burning, it had only been two weeks since I was hurt. But I'd learnt a long time ago that you just have to pull through. That's exactly what I was doing.

" _We're at red, bottom of the hill."_  Sasha's voice spoke from the walkie.

" _Alright, here comes the parade._ " Daryl called back.

Hearing his voice, I looked at Glenn's walkie. We'd planned on having me with him. We'd planned on having me with the others to keep the walkers in check. We'd made a lot of plans...

**RPOV**

Michonne, Morgan and myself ran out from the trees and onto the road. I pulled my walkie out, slowing down to a brisk walk.

"Glenn, you there yet?"

 _"Almost. We'll have it handled before they get here. And we'll meet you at yellow._ "

"Copy that." I called back before putting the walkie away.

The three of us stopped, looking at the cars, RV and wall in front of us. We were all lucky we'd managed to get everything up and in place. If we hadn't of, we would be screwed.

"It'll hold." I nodded.

"Well, that's good." Michonne started. "You know, considering where we're standing."

"Michonne?" Morgan spoke up, breaking the silence that had appeared.

"Yeah?" she looked at him.

"Back when you were in that place, where I lived..." he hesitated a moment before asking, "Did you take one of my protein bars?"

She didn't answer right away. I looked over, through the corner of my eye, watching as she just gave a simple shrug.

"No." she lied, a tone in her voice we all knew meant she was lying. She just didn't care.

He shook his head. "See, I could have sworn there was one more peanut butter left."

But Michonne just sighed. "That's how it is, isn't it?" she shook her head. "You always think there's one more peanut butter left."

**VPOV**

" _Glenn, you have to hurry. The noise could distract the herd right off the road."_  dad said through the walkie. " _Talk to me._ "

Glenn lifted his walkie to his mouth. "We're here." he told him as we reached the windows of the store.

I pulled out my knife, moving to the walker that was stuck under a tractor, killing it easily before moving to the others.

"Sounds like a lot." Nicholas noted.

"We need it quiet." Glenn shrugged.

Heath turned to him. "So, what's the plan?"

Glenn turned to me, knowing I was the only other one here who knew how this was going to get done.

"We take them out." I answered.

"A few at a time." Glenn finished before heading around to the side of the building.

We all followed, the others getting their knives out, readying themselves for this. We all knew it was up to the four of us. We were going to be the ones who either kept the walkers on the road, or lead them straight home.

When we stood in front of the door Glenn reached for it. When he pulled he found it was locked. "Nicholas, you're at the door." he ordered as he pulled out a crowbar from his bag. Nicholas did as he was told. "You let one or two out, and then you close it. You keep doing that. That's the trick. That's how we control it." he nodded before turning. "Heath-"

"Wait, what if he can't close it?" Heath cut him off.

"I'll be able to." Nicholas assured him.

I shrugged. "If he can't, we take them on."

"We take 'em on?" Heath looked at me like I was crazy.

"She's right." Glenn backed me up. "If we get into trouble, we go behind the building, into the woods, we draw them away."

Heath sighed, shaking his head, looking like he was ready to bolt.

"Hey, you've been out on a run since they got here." Nicholas started. "They know what they're doing. Me and Aiden, we didn't."

With that Heath nodded, though still wasn't happy about the situation. "This was supposed to be a dress rehearsal."

"I'm supposed to be delivering pizzas, man." Glenn told him.

I sighed. "Look, I get you're scared or whatever, but we have to do this. Daryl's leading the walkers this way. And they're closing in. That noise is gonna pull the herd right off the road, and lead them straight to home. We don't have a choice."

Heath looked to me, thinking it over for a second before he lifted his knife, ready. "Okay."

"Okay." I nodded to Glenn. "Let's do this."

Glenn put the crowbar between the two doors, looking at Nicholas. "On three." he got ready. "One. Two. Three!" he grunted, pushing the crowbar to open the door.

Nicholas, with his eyes shut tight, swung the door open... There was a shutter in the way.

I sighed. "Shit."

**CPOV**

"And then she let me hold the hammer. And then she let me hit a nail. And then Eugene said it was dangerous, so Tara told him to shut up..."

I was walking down the street, Judith in the stroller, Aly by my side, Houdini next to her. With most of our people gone to deal with the walkers I'd offered to take care of my sister. Tara had been watching Aly, but when she'd gotten dizzy she'd asked me to take care of the little girl. Which is how I ended up stuck listening to Aly go on and on.

Looking around I caught sight of Enid and Ron sitting together. I hadn't really spoken to either of them for a few days. I'd spent most of my time at home, with Judy and Aly. Vickie had hung out a bit as well, when she was home at least.

Turning away I decided to leave the two in peace. But as I went to leave, Gabriel called my name, causing me to stop.

Aly had been humming away but went quiet at the sound of the priest's voice. She turned and glared at him without saying a word.

I sighed and turned to the man. "What?"

"You heard what I told Deanna about your group."

"Yes." Aly folded her arms over her chest.

I wasn't sure if she understood what he'd said, though I knew she'd been around when Maggie had told the rest of us what Gabriel had said at the meeting. But even if she didn't understand what he meant, she knew we were all upset with him. It got so bad that he'd moved out of the house next door and into an apartment on the other side of town.

"What do you want?" I asked, wanting to get to the chase.

"It was about me, not you or your group. I know that now. I want to help. You tried to teach me back at my church, but I'm ready to learn now."

I sighed again. "I think you need to tell everybody." I nodded.

"Yeah, I think you're right."

Turning away I nodded at Aly before we started walking again. We didn't get far before I called over my shoulder. "Come by around 3:00. We'll start with the machete." I told him before moving on.

Looking over at Ron and Enid again I saw Ron put his arms around her in a hug. Enid returned it, but looked over in my direction, her eyes landing on me. I could see at that moment she was conflicted, which made two of us.

"You hungry?" I asked Aly.

She nodded, smiling up at me. "Yep."

A smile of my own formed on my lips as I looked down at her. "Then let's get you some lunch."

**VPOV**

"This is a bad idea." Heath looked at the window we all stood in front of.

"This is the only idea." Glenn told him.

"I think there's something like a dozen in there." Nicholas was scared. I didn't blame him though.

"A dozen is easy." I shrugged, turning to look at the three guys. "We'll shoot the glass from a distance. They'll only be able to come out bit by bit. We'll shoot them down." I repeated.

Glenn nodded. "We stay back, we get on opposite ends, we draw them to each of us."

"Try and take on three each?" Nicholas asked.

Glenn shook his head. "No. This is just me, Vickie and Heath. You get back, and you stay back." he pulled his walkie out, handing it to Nicholas. "If things go south, you tell Rick and you draw them away." when Nicholas didn't do anything Glenn pressed on his chest. "Just move back."

Nicholas did as he was told, moving away, staying before the rest of us.

I turned to Glenn. "Things go bad... you leave me." I gestured to my side. "I'll only slow you down."

He just shook his head. "We'll be fine." he pulled out his gun and turned to Heath. "Ready?"

"No." Heath shrugged. "But since you're doing this thing anyway."

"All right." Glenn nodded to me.

I turned to the glass, lifting my gun. I pulled the trigger once and watched as the glass shattered, making an opening for the walkers. Just like I'd said, they came out bit by bit. The three of us kept our guns raised as we shot down each walker, always going for which ever one was in front and closest. There were more than just a dozen inside. More began to push out, and soon enough we couldn't keep it under control.

"They're still coming." Heath warned.

"Screw this." dropping my gun I pulled my knife out and moved to the closest walker.

"Vickie!" Glenn yelled as he kept shooting.

But I'd made the right move, because when they'd run out of bullets, they hadn't been ready to reload or get their knives. They struggled against the walkers while they tried to ready their guns. I moved quickly, and swiftly. Move to a walker, stab walker's head, move on. Over and over. I couldn't tell you how many I actually killed.

When I turned, and saw the last walker stumbling out of the store I turned to the others. Something must have happened because Nicholas was standing near Heath, while Glenn just looked at him.

With a nod to the last walker, Glenn sighed. "Get it."

Nicholas moved forward, stabbing the walker in the head without any hesitation.

"Good." Glenn tucked his gun away before looking at me. "Don't scare me like that again."

I just shrugged. "Still here, aren't I?"

Heath shook his head. "You are one insane lady."

Grinning I lifted my own gun off the ground and tucked it away. "Come on, let's get out of here."

 

...

 

Walking through the forest, Glenn, Heath, Nicholas and myself finally made it to the others. The road was in sight, the walkers following just like we'd hoped. Things were looking good. The sound of a whistle had us look over, seeing dad gesture for us to come over. We followed him as he lead us to the few other people who were on this side of the herd.

"It's working." Carter sounded surprised. "You were right." he offered dad his hand.

Dad shook it before turning to the rest of us. "Everyone, we need to finish this. We have to keep moving, and fan out down that thing. Front to back. Like we said, cops at a parade. Glenn, you take the back. You got the other walkie."

Glenn nodded. "Got it."

Dad went on. "If it gets sloppy, we fire our weapons, pull 'em back on track."

When dad finished, Carter spoke again. "I'll hit the front."

"Okay, one after the other." dad told everyone before turning to me. "You stay with me." he gestured to my side where he knew I was hurt and went on before I could say anything. "You're not at full strength. You'll be safer. Don't argue."

Doing as I was told I followed him as we all split up.

**RPOV**

Vickie and I hadn't gotten very far before we heard screams coming from up ahead.

"Shit." she looked at me. "Carter."

"Tobin, they're breaking off." I called over the walkie.

_"What do you want us to do?"_

"Fire your guns and draw them back."

We didn't hesitate a second longer before we were running towards the screams, weapons at the ready. We both knew, that no matter what was happening, we had to be ready.

Reaching him we found a walker holding his shoulders, teeth tearing at his face.

Vickie grabbed Carter and pulled him away from the walker while I killed the thing. Turning I got to my knees, crouching over Carter as he screamed and held his cheek, bleeding everywhere. I didn't have to look up to see walkers still coming towards us even though the others were firing their guns.

"You gotta be quiet." Vickie whispered, holding her hand to Carter's cheek, putting pressure on the wound. "Carter, you have to calm down."

But he just kept screaming. "Oh, God!"

"Carter." I warned. Lifting my gaze, I saw the walkers moving our way.

I couldn't risk it. I couldn't let him keep distracting the herd. He was bit on the cheek, there was no saving him. Leaving him like this was putting myself, and my daughter at risk.

Moving without over thinking anything I turned his head to the side and stabbed him in the back of the head with my knife.

Turning to look at Vickie I saw Morgan standing behind her. Ignoring him I helped her up. "You okay?"

She nodded, wiping Carter's blood on to her pants. "Fine."

The thing is, I couldn't tell if she meant it or not. I couldn't tell if it was the truth or a lie. I couldn't tell if she even knew. After the last few years of dealing with living like this we'd all become a little numb. That made figuring out my own kids' feelings very hard.

 _"It's working. The gunfire is bringing them back on the road."_  Tobin called over the walkie.

"You got them, Tobin." I told him.

" _Copy that._ " he paused a moment before asking,  _"What was that screaming?_ "

"That was Carter. He got bit right in the face. I stopped him." I answered before getting to my feet.

"Are you okay?" I looked over, seeing Michonne checking Vickie.

Vickie nodded. "I'm fine."

Moving over I grabbed Carter's weapon that he'd dropped before turning to the others. "We have a good hour until we have 'em to green. When we hand 'em off to Daryl, Sasha and Abraham." I looked to Morgan. "Why don't you head back, tell everyone what's happening? They should know."

"Okay." he nodded. "Rick, I just-"

I cut him off. "Will you do that for me?"

He understood that I didn't want to hear whatever he had to say, and simply nodded again.

I looked over his shoulder and gestured to a wandering walker. "I'll take care of that one. Michonne, Vickie, you two take point." I told them before walking off.

**VPOV**

Losing Carter, it was going to hurt the community. But I wouldn't let it affect me. I couldn't let it. People die, that's just how it goes. As long as the people I love are safe and sound, I would still have the ability to move on.

It didn't take long before dad caught up to Michonne and myself. We were simply walking along the road, hidden by the trees. As long as we kept quiet, and kept sharp, everything was going to work out. That was until the sound of a blaring horn had us all turning away from the walkers, listening out to where the sound could be coming from.

"What the hell is that?" I turned to dad.

Michonne shook her head. "Whatever that is, it's far. It sounds like it's coming from..."

"Home." dad finished for her.

**  
**

**Chapter 5**

**Things Can Always Get Worse**

**MPOV**

The sound of yells and screams had Deanna and myself stop working and turn to the nearest lookout, where someone stood on watch. "Richards, what's going on in there?" Deanna called to the person on lookout.

But before he had time to answer, or react, or do anything, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at his lookout station. A second was thrown which hit him, setting him ablaze. He screamed as he fell from the lookout, landing on the outside of the walls. Gun at the ready I rushed over to him. But once I was there he was already dead.

I looked up, through the smoke, catching someone climbing the walls. Before I could make a shot, they were already over. "Come on!" I called to Deanna before I ran off, needing to get inside to help our people.

**CPOV**

I threw Aly's door open, seeing her at the window, eyes wide, watching the streets below. It was chaos out there. Someone had jumped the walls and were attacking everyone. Killing randomly, without stopping.

I rushed over to her, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her away from the window. "Aly, you have to go into baby Judy's room. Okay? I want you to stay in there, with Houdini and this." I pulled out my knife. "You remember how to use it? Remember how I showed you?"

She nodded, holding the knife. "I remember." her voice shook.

"Good. Okay, now go. Close the door and don't open it until I say so." I told her.

She grabbed Houdini's collar and raced out of the room, the dog sticking by her side like he always did. I knew that as long as Houdini was with them, Aly and Judith would be okay.

Rushing out of the room I grabbed the gun I'd left out of the room I then hurried down stairs, just in time to see Carol. "I saw from upstairs. They're coming in from all over."

She nodded. "You have to stay here and keep Judith and Aly safe." was all she said before she ran out the front door.

**VPOV**

We were running. Eleven of us running back home. Feet pounding on the dirt ground of the forest as we rushed as fast as we could, needing to get home as soon as possible. Our people were in danger. Family and friends. They were all back home without us, unaware of the avalanche of walkers headed their way, about to make everything worse than it already was.

Glenn stopped, looking to dad. "Try again."

Dad came to stand next to him, lifting the walkie to his mouth. "Tobin, it's not stopping. Light it up, you hear me?" but there was no response. "Tobin!" the sound of walkers ahead of us caught his attention. "Michonne."

She nodded. "Got it."

We kept running. All of us. Our feet hitting the ground.

"Shit! Shit! It was half. Jesus, it was more than half!" one of the others noted. He was clearly panicked.

A woman turned to him. "We just gotta stay ahead of 'em. They walk, we run."

 _"Rick_!" Daryl's voice called over the walkie.

"I'm here."

" _What's goin' on back there?"_

"Half of them broke off. They're going toward Alexandria." dad explained.

Abraham responded first.  _"Towards you?"_

"We ran ahead." dad reassured them. "There's a horn or something, loud, coming from the east. It's not stopping."

 _"I'm gonna gas it up. Turn back."_  Daryl told him.

Dad shook his head. "We have it. You keep going."

" _They're gonna need our help._ "

"We gotta keep the herd moving." dad insisted.

But Daryl wasn't listening.  _"Not if shit's goin' down, we don't."_

I stopped in my tracks. "Give me the walkie." dad halted and looked down at my hand before giving me the walkie. "Daryl?"

" _Vic? Where are ya?_ "

Breathing heavy I looked around us. "I'm heading back with the others. You gotta stay with Abraham and Sasha, you hear me? You still have half the walkers following you. Keep it that way. Okay? Daryl... I need you to do this. For me."

There was a pause before he called over again. " _A'right._ "

Nodding to dad I handed him the walkie back before we all started running again.

**RPOV**

The sound of the horn blared, calling the walkers off the road. It was coming from home. We all knew it. We all knew something was wrong back there, and soon enough everything would be wrong.

I came to a stop and turned to Vickie. "You have to run ahead. Don't wait for us."

She shook her head. "Dad, no. You need-"

"I need you to be safe. I need your brother and sister to be safe." I told her.

Michonne nodded. "Go to the RV. Grab one of the cars. Drive back home. Make sure everyone's okay." she grabbed Vickie's arms. "You're still hurt. If your stitches pull and you bleed, you'll lead the walkers to us and slow the group down."

Glenn stopped next to us, turning to Vickie. "We need to make sure everyone's okay." he looked at her as she looked up at him.

There had always been a bond between the two, since the moment they met. Glenn and Vickie thought alike, and moved alike. I knew Vickie was close to Maggie too, they'd been that way since the farm. The three of them... It wouldn't matter if the world had fell apart or stayed the same. If they'd met before everything happened, they'd be friends then just like they were now.

"Please." he almost begged.

Slowly, Vickie nodded. "Okay." with one last look to each of us she then turned and ran off.

**VPOV**

As I ran, I felt my heart pounding, my side stinging. But the idea of our people being in danger was the only thing that kept me moving. Kept me going as fast as I could. Knowing that there were helpless people who needed me. Knowing my daughter needed me. My brother and sister. My family and friends. Even those people who I was sure could take care of themselves- like Carol and Maggie- I still felt the need to be there for them.

That's what you do for the people you love. Which is why I was also conflicted.

As much as I knew I was needed back home, I felt a pull inside me, begging me to turn around and find Daryl. To leave everything else to the others and make sure he's okay. To keep him safe. To keep him by my side. But I couldn't do that. I knew that at this moment, the two of us had to be apart for the greater good.

It was kind of funny. I probably would have laughed a little if I had a moment to stop and think about it all. I mean, Daryl had been so worried about leaving me behind, about us being apart, and I had told him that sometimes things happened that we couldn't control. Well, just look at us now. I guess the universe always did have a sick sense of humour.

Finally reaching the cars we'd set up, I jumped in, opened the glove compartment, pulled the keys out and turned the engine on. The moment the vehicle roared to life, I slammed my foot on the accelerator and sped off in the direction of home, still ignoring the pain in my side. Though in the back of my mind, I knew I'd done some damage... again...

**CPOV**

I heard the sound of someone trying to get into the house from inside the laundry. Gun raised, finger by the trigger, I moved slowly, and carefully towards the room, waiting for the intruder to break in. When the door finally opened, I aimed my gun at the person...

Enid gasped before collecting herself. "Hi."

"Why didn't you just knock?" I asked, closing the door behind her.

"I have these." she showed me a set of keys. "Didn't want them to have them." she handed the keys to me.

I walked back into the kitchen, Enid right behind me.

"And I wanted to say goodbye."

"Okay, watch the back door. Tell me if you see them coming." I told her, not listening to what she had to say.

"I'm not staying." she argued.

"You're not going anywhere. Sit down. You're helping me protect Judith and Aly." I left no room for discussion. "They're not getting inside this house."

Sitting on the floor I waited until I heard he stand behind me. A moment later he back leaned against mine as she watched one end of the house and I watched the other, the chaos outside never ending.

"We're not gonna let them." I looked over my shoulder at her. "Did you see them?"

"They're just people." she shrugged. "This place is too big to protect. There are too many blind spots. That's how we were able to-"

I cut her off. "They got in the walls, but they're gonna die. All of them." there was no other option. "Don't tell me goodbye." I added.

She didn't say anything at first. I was both grateful and anxious to hear what she'd have to say. The idea of her going anywhere, it scared me. I cared about her. She was a friend... she could be more than a friend. Her leaving would be hard enough. But her saying goodbye? That would be torture.

"Okay. I won't." she finally responded before we fell into silence.

**MPOV**

"Mum!"

I stopped in my tracks, turning to see Deanna running to Spencer. He stood by a truck that had crashed into the wall. But it appeared to still be standing. Everything would be fine as long as the walls stayed standing, and we got inside.

"Oh, God! Spencer! Thank God." Deanna hugged her son.

I caught up to them, ready for action. "We need to get inside."

Before anyone could say anything the sound of tires screeching had Spencer and I lift our weapons as we moved closer to the truck, trying to see who was on the other side of it. Suddenly someone jumped onto the hood of the truck, Spencer and I aimed our weapons at the person, ready to shoot. But before either of us pulled the trigger, we stopped at the sight of Vickie, her hands up in surrender.

"Whoa!" her eyes were wide as she looked to both guns. "It's just me."

I frowned. "Vickie? What are you-"

She cut me off before I could finish. "The walkers are out and half of them are coming this way." she told us, jumping off the truck to stand in front us. "A horn distracted them." gesturing over her shoulder, a frown on her face, she looked to me. "What the hell's going on?"

"People are inside the walls." Spencer told her.

Having heard enough, Vickie pulled her gun out from where it sat in the holster wrapped around her thigh and attached to her belt. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she cocked the gun.

Before any of us could move, Deanna shook her head. "I can't go in there." she started. "I don't have a gun, I don't know how to fight. If I go inside, I'll just be another person who's got to be saved. Best thing that I can do for everyone in there is to stay out here."

Without hesitation, Vickie started to give orders, a plan already set. "Okay. Deanna. Get in the truck. Stay low, and stay quiet. Spencer. Stay with your mum. Protect her no matter what. Understand?"

He gave a short nod. "Got it."

"Good." Vickie turned to me. "You ready?"

"Ready."

With one last look to the others we then ran off, looking for a way to get inside the walls.

**VPOV**

Maggie and I had split up. The moment I'd climbed over the walls an landed on the ground in Alexandria, I'd spotted one of the outsiders. Without hesitating, or thinking, I crept up behind them, pulling my knife out as I did, and then slit their throat. The moment they landed on the ground, I pulled their jumper off and slipped my arms into it. As I'd been putting the jumper on, I noticed the carved 'W' on the person's head, so used their blood to draw one on my own forehead.

A gun shot in the direction of home had me up and running in an instant. I was hoping and praying that Carl, Aly and Judith were safe. But the moment I cleared through the trees and could see my home, I froze. Standing on the other side of road in front of the house was Carl, a gun in his hands. He was moving towards a man who was on the ground and appeared to be injured.

Acting before anyone realised I was their, I moved forward, lifted my gun and pulled the trigger, killing the guy Carl had been inching closer to. Unlike my brother, I wasn't one for taking chances.

Startled by my presence, Carl turned to me. "Vickie?"

Stalking toward him, I grabbed Carl's arm and began to drag him towards the house. "Get inside." I ordered before looking to Ron as he stood on the road, and Enid as she stood on the porch steps. "All of you. Now!"

Ron looked over his shoulder at Enid, then to Carl and then me, before shaking his head. "No." with that, he walked off.

Carl went to go after him, but I kept my brother in place, my grip on his arm tightening as I continued to pull him towards the house, ignoring his protests the whole way there.

"Vickie! They'll kill him! He can't be out there by himself!"

Sighing, I pushed Carl towards the porch steps. " _I'll_  deal with Ron.  _I'll_  deal with these bastards. You?" I glanced at Enid for a moment. "Both of you, stay in the house and take care of Judith." I ordered before I set all my attention on Carl again. "Where's Aly?"

Breathing heavily, he gestured to the house. "Upstairs."

"Good. Make sure she stays inside. Don't let her out." I turned to leave before stopping, looking over my shoulder at him. "Carl, don't tell her I'm here."

He gave a short nod, understanding. Knowing Carl would keep the little one's safe I turned and run off, ready to finish this.

If Aly thought I was back, she'd come after me. She'd feel safer with me, so she'd come looking. But with everything happening out here, all the intruders... I couldn't have that. I couldn't have her by my side, watching as I killed countless people.

**DPOV**

I rode up to the car and looked in to Abraham and Sasha. "Hey, we gone five miles out yet?"

"Give or take some yardage." Abraham answered from the passenger side. "You got a reason for asking?"

"Next intersection we're gonna spin around and go back."

I'd heard what Vic said. I knew she was right. Rick was right. Leading the herd away was the right thing to do. But leaving our people was wrong. They needed all the help they could get. Besides, leaving Vic was not an option. I'd done it enough times to know it was wrong. We'd been apart enough times for me to know nothing good ever came from it...

"The plan is to go fifteen more." Sasha reminded me.

But I didn't care. "Yeah, I'm gonna change that. Five's gonna have to work."

Abraham shook his head. "The magic number's twenty. That's the mission. That's makin' sure they're off munching on infirm raccoons the rest of their undead lives instead of any of us."

Sasha shrugged. "You want to go, we can't stop you. But without you, they could stop us."

I looked ahead and saw a sign for Alexandria. I weighed my options, contemplating her words, thinking through the outcomes of both option. What could happen if I stayed? Would could happen if I left? I thought about what was right, what was wrong. I thought about what Rick would do... What Vic would do. What she'd  _want_  me to do...

_Daryl... I need you to do this. For me._

Sighing, I nodded. "Alright. Twenty miles. That's all." I told them before turning my attention to the task at hand.

**RPOV**

Running along the road as fast as I could, I moved over a hill, seeing three walkers eating someone, just up a head. I'd hoped I could just run past, but right at that moment, Glenn called over the radio.

" _Rick, it's Glenn. We're in a town five degrees east of the green marker. If you get around on Redding in the next twenty minutes, you should be good. I think that's how far we're ahead of the herd. I'm gonna try to set a fire and distract them. If you don't see smoke, they're still coming your way._ "

I'd managed to get all three down easy enough. Though my hand got cut from a machete that was poking out of one of them.

" _I gotta go. Good luck, dumb-ass._ "

Kneeling on the ground, panting heavily, I gathered all the supplies of the bodies that I could find before running off.

**VPOV**

I pushed through the doors of the armory. Seeing someone standing there I lifted my gun and aimed. They spun on their heels and lifted their gun towards me at the time I'd raised mine. But the moment our eyes locked, we both relaxed, letting our guns drop back to our sides.

"Vickie."

"Carol." I gave a short nod before moving forward, coming to stand next to her by the guns.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she stuffed more guns into a bag.

I sighed. "I'm here to help our people. Seems to me they need it." I glanced over at Olivia, seeing her cowering in the open closet.

Nodding, Carol turned to Olivia. "Come here. Now." the woman moved to Carol obediently. "You barricade that door behind us once Vickie and I leave. Do you know how to shoot a gun?" she handed the woman a gun.

Olivia shook her head. "No."

Carol showed her. "Stand here. Finger here. Aim there."

I nodded. "One of them comes through that door, you shoot until they stop moving. Got it?" Olivia gave a short nod, clearly terrified. I sighed, resting a hand on her arm. "Carol and me? We got this. Don't worry." I told her before turning to Carol. "Ready?"

"Let's go."

**MPOV**

"Carol? Vickie?"

Looking through the smoke, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Or more,  _who_  I was seeing. Carol and Vickie, dressed in the intruders' clothes, with bloody 'W' on their foreheads...

Vickie grabbed a bag off Carol before pulling a gun out. "Here!" she called to me.

I rushed forward, taking the weapon from her. "Where is everyone?" I asked, looking around.

Neither of them answered, Vickie just gave the bag back. "We gotta split up."

Carol nodded. "Vickie's right." she gestured down the road. "I'll go this way." was all she said before she ran off.

I looked Vickie up and down. "Vickie, you shouldn't be-"

She stopped me. "Our people. Everyone here. They need us. If they're not willing to fight or kill for this place and their safety, then I have no choice."

I knew she was right. We both knew it. Vickie was the kind of person to do whatever she could for the people she cared about, even if she wasn't at her best. She was just that kind of person. I knew there was no way she would listen to me.

So I gave a short nod. "Just be careful."

"You too." she told me before we ran off in different directions.

**RPOV**

I'd gotten the RV. The others would make it back home, I knew they would. Parking on the side of the road I looked out the window before pulling out the walkie. "Glenn, I'm in place by my best guess. You guys make it back yet?"

But there was no answer.

"Glenn." I paused a moment, but still nothing. "Tobin, you there?" nothing but static. "Daryl?"

 _"I'm here._ " he called back.

" _We're all here._ " Sasha called back.

I felt myself relax a little. "Won't be long now. They're almost here. I'll get them going you way again." I paused at the sound of shots. "There's gunfire coming from back home. We gotta sit with it and hope they can handle it. I think they can. They have to."

" _Where's Vic?"_

I looked down at the walkie. "She went home. She went back to help them." before he could say anything, I went on. "But we have to keep going forward. For all of them. Can't turn back 'cause we're afraid. This is for them. Going back now before it's done, that'd be for us. We have to keep going."

There was a long pause before Daryl called back. " _Just keep her safe._ "

I reached into the glove compartment and pulled out some tissues, pressing them against my bleeding hand. Lifting the walking to my mouth, I pressed the button to respond. Suddenly, the RV door flew open.

I ducked out of the way as I guy took shots at me.

" _Rick_?" Daryl called over the walkie. They would have heard the shots as I'd been holding the button. " _Rick_?"

But there was no time to respond. I got off the chair and run to the guy, knocking the gun out of his hand and pushing him to the ground. Another person rushed in, grabbing me before I could do anything else. I struggled against them, trying to fight both men off.

" _Rick? Rick_?"

Throwing the guy off my back I pushed him towards the driver's seat before grabbing my gun, shooting both men quickly.

Moving forward I searched their pockets, finding a jar of applesauce... They'd been at Alexandria. I knew it. These people were responsible for the horn.

A soft thud caught my attention. Leaning over I looked out the window and at the side view mirror seeing three more people making their way around the RV. Being as quiet as possible I lifted the automatic rifle that had been left under the passenger seat. Aiming it at the wall that they were pressed against I pulled the trigger, letting bullets spray. I didn't stop until they were dead.

Knowing the walkers were coming this way I got back into the driver's seat, turning the keys in the ignition to start the car. But no matter how much I tired the engine wouldn't start.

The sound of walkers nearing got louder and louder... I was in trouble.

**CPOV**

With everything now settled, I'd gone looking for Enid, only to find a note she'd left on the coffee table.  _Just Survive Somehow._  She was gone. I knew she was. I also knew she probably wouldn't be back. The way she'd been acting today... I just  _knew_.

"Carl?" I turned to the stairs, seeing Aly hiding behind a post. "Is it over?" she asked.

"It's over." I nodded, gesturing for her to come to me.

She run towards me and threw her arms around my leg. "I want mum and Daryl."

I brushed her hair behind her ear. "I know." sighing I looked out the window. "I know."

**VPOV**

Aiming my gun, I shot a woman, right in the head, killing her instantly. She was the fifth intruder I'd killed, and it seemed the last. Looking at my surroundings no one was around except our people. The others were gone. The people who had jumped our walls and tried to kill all of us, were either dead, or just gone. With all the 'bad guys' dead, people started coming out of buildings, out of hiding. Maggie, Rosita, Spencer and Deanna moved towards me, causing others to look our way.

"Thank you." Deanna rested her hand on my arm. "We would have lost a lot more people if it wasn't for you."

I shrugged. "I'm not the only one that fought."

She nodded. "I know. But still, thank you."

Looking around, I could see people watching, waiting expectantly. It put pressure on me, knowing all these people had at least some idea of what had just gone down. They'd know what some of our people had to do as well.

The sound of groans caught everyone's attention. They all turned and screamed as a walker headed towards us.

Sighing I moved forward, rushing past everyone. Once I reached the walker I didn't wait a single moment before I killed it, pulling my knife out in an instant, causing the dead thing to fall to the ground. Once I stood again my eyes scanned over the gathering crowd as everyone looked to me expectantly. Even Deanna and Maggie were waiting, as if they all thought I had something to say, or that maybe I knew what to do next.

Tucking my knife away I nodded. "This is only the beginning. Things aren't going to be the way they were. Its time you all saw that." I gestured to the walls. "The herd got out, and with all the commotion coming from here, half were distracted." before they could panic I went on. "The others are going to try and keep them away. But for now, we all have to prepare for the worst."

"How can things get worse than this?" a man I didn't know asked.

At his words, I found myself thinking of the time my group and I were on the road, with no food, no water and nowhere to go. Eugene had wondered if things could get any worse then. They could then and they can now.

I turned to the person, making sure my words were heard by everyone. "Things can always get worse."

 

 

**Chapter 6**

**Surrounded**

**VPOV**

Michonne, Heath and another man had come back. Out of everyone I'd been running with, everyone out there, they were the only ones back. The other group were all fine. Tobin and his team. They were absolutely fine. But I'd started to wonder about the others. Dad, Glenn, Nicholas. Daryl, Abraham, Sasha. They were still out there, and we had no way of knowing if they'd make it back or not...

Michonne stood in front of Maggie, Rosita and myself, filling us in with what had happened with the Glenn. "The town was overrun. He split off with Nicholas. He had this idea that if he lit a fire, it would stop the walkers from coming here. I tried to go instead. I wanted to go... The fire never got lit." her voice shook. "We had to keep going. I'm sorry."

Maggie looked to the ground, her hand moving to run over her face. I stepped closer to her, placing my own hand on her back as she leaned against me for support, needing the comfort I offered.

"He said that if he got stuck, he would find a way to send us a signal." Michonne finished.

Maggie perked up a little. "A signal?"

"Open the gate!"

We all froze and turned to the walls. Someone had yelled out, we all heard it. Everyone had heard it.

"Open the gate!"

Someone yelled again.

Grabbing my gun from my belt, I held it in my hands as I ran to the gate, the others right behind me.

"Open the gate now!"

Michonne pulled the gate open, with the help of Maggie as Rosita and I stood, our guns ready, aimed straight ahead. But I froze at the sight before me. My dad, covered in sweat, and dirt, bleeding from his hand, running as fast as he could, with a herd of walkers right behind him. Dozens of them mere steps away from grabbing him.

"Move!" I yelled pulling everyone out of the way as more people gathered.

A walker got close to dad, and without thinking I aimed and pulled the trigger of my gun, shooting the walker right in the head, killing it. Dad just kept running, moving as fast as he could. The moment he was in I helped Michonne and Maggie close the gate as the walkers got closer and closer. Right as the gate closed they pressed against it, reaching in, snarling and groaning at us. The sound was deafening.

 

...

 

I stood in front of dad, bandaging up his hand. Aly knew I was home now and had planted herself on the ground, right by my feet as she played with her dolls. We were all silent. Each of us. Even Carl, who was sitting on the table, watching me fix dad's hand up.

"What happened?" I finally spoke.

"I was in the RV, talking to Daryl on the walkie, when this guy." dad shook his head. "This guy with a 'W' on his head came in and shot at me. I killed him, a few others too. But somehow the motor got hit and the RV wouldn't start. The herd came, and I had to run."

I'd stopped my actions as he spoke. "Did they all have 'W's' on their foreheads?"

He nodded. "Yeah. There were five of them." he looked up at me, frowning with curiosity. "Why?"

"People got over the walls." Carl answered before I could. "They started killing everyone, taking things. They had 'W's' on their heads, too."

Dad had turned to Carl but as my brother stopped talking his eyes landed on me. "Did any of them get away? Did you see any-"

Cutting him off I shook my head. "I killed every one I saw." I told him flatly.

Aly looked up at me for a moment, just a single moment, before going back to her toys. I wasn't sure if she'd liked hearing what I'd said, but either way it was done. I couldn't change it now even if I wanted to. But I didn't. I knew what I did was right, and that's what mattered.

"They drove a truck into the wall. Spencer stopped them from getting in, but some damage was made." I shrugged. "I can show you if you want?" I asked as I finished with his hand.

"Alright." he nodded, getting to his feet. "I need to talk to the others. Tell them everything."

"Okay." I sighed, putting everything back in the med-kit. "Aly, you stay home, okay sweetie. Keep Houdini inside, too. Can't have him barking with all the walkers around the walls."

Aly nodded. "Yes, mum."

"Good girl." gesturing to dad I started for the door. "Let's go.

**RPOV**

Vickie and I walked towards the broken wall. It was still up though which was good. People had already started to build up some reinforcements as well, which was even better. But the gathering crowd of clearly panicked and worried people was not so good. It was clear each and every one of them had no clue as to what they should do now. As far as they were concerned, we were all dead. But that was not the case. I was going to make sure of it.

"You can hear it." I started. "Some of you saw it. They got back here, half of them. Still enough to surround us twenty deep. Look, I know you're scared. You haven't seen anything like this. You haven't been through anything like this. But we're safe for now. The pane the truck it seems intact. We reinforced it just in case. Either way, the wall's gonna hold together. Can you?" I asked, looking to each face. "The others, they're gonna be back."

Rosita nodded. "They're gonna be back."

I went on. "Daryl, Abraham, Sasha, they have vehicles. They're gonna lead 'em away, just like the others. And Glenn and Nicholas are gonna walk back through the front gate after. They know what they're doing, and we know what we need to do. We keep noise to a minimum. Pull our blinds at night. Even better, keep the lights out. We'll try to make this place as quiet as a graveyard, see if they move on."

"This place is a graveyard." Francine spoke up.

We all turned to her as we fell silent, nothing but the sound of the walkers on the other side of the walls could be heard.

Aaron stepped forward. "The quarry broke open and those walkers were heading this way. All of them. The plan that Rick put into place stopped that from happening. We got half of them away." he looked to everyone. "I was out there recruiting with Daryl. I wanted to try to get into a cannery and scavenge. And Daryl wanted to keep looking for people. We did what I wanted. And we wound up in a trap set by those people. And I lost my pack. They must have followed our tracks." he paused, guilt written all over his face. "Those people who attacked us, they found their way back here because of me."

Nodding, I turned to everyone else. "There'll be more to talk about."

"Deanna?" Tobin spoke from behind me. "Deanna?"

I looked over, seeing Deanna walking away, ignoring him. Everyone watched as she just kept walking.

 

...

 

Carrying a body of one of the intruders, I'd watched as Jessie dragged a body towards the graves. I'd known it wasn't one of our people in an instant and so I'd followed her, wondering what she was going to do. When I walked around the bushes I found her digging a hole, the body laying beside where she dug the shovel into the ground. The other bodies of the people who had come were off to the side, where they were going to stay until we could get rid of them. They didn't deserve to be buried.

Dumping the body, I carried onto the pile of others, I shook my head. "Don't." she stopped and waited before I went on. "We don't bury killers inside the walls."

She sighed and looked to the bodies. "We aren't going out there. So, what do we do?"

"We wait." I answered simply before walking off.

**MPOV**

I was getting ready. I didn't care if there were walkers surrounding the walls. I would find a way out. I had to. Glenn needed me, and I needed to know he was still alive.

"You're going out?" Aaron asked as he stepped into the armory. "The flashlights, the rebar, the rope." he sighed. "You lower them off the wall, a good distance apart, maybe spin them. That way the walkers are drawn to each one, and you open up a path."

Ignoring him I continued to gather things I may need for what I was planning on doing.

He moved to lean on the bench near me. "Now you're gearing up. Just waiting for dark, right? What happens when you twist an ankle jumping down? Hmm? Or you just get slowed down by one of them and then you have to deal with all of them?" he shook his head. "I can't let you do this."

Pulling the strap of my bag over my shoulder I turned to him. "You can't stop me." I told him before moving to walk out.

He grabbed my arm, turning me to him. "I'm going to help you. And I know a safer way out."

**CPOV**

I found Ron sitting on the grass behind his house, messing around with a knife. As much as I didn't want to talk to him, I knew he was the only one that could help me right now. Getting adults involved would only make things worse.

"Hey." I called to him. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, clearly not okay. He was pissed.

Continuing to walk up to him, I went on. "Have you seen Enid?"

"Not since I saw her with you."

"I think she went over the wall just before the herd came and now she's trapped out there." I told him.

"What makes you think she isn't dead?"

"Come on, man." I shook my head. He just got to his feet with a scoff before walking off. Speaking up again, I stopped him. "Look, I'll go find her. I just need your help. If you maybe climb up-"

He cut me off. "I'm not helping you, Carl."

"This isn't for me." I sighed. "It's for Enid. Your friend."

"My  _girlfriend_. Or, I mean, 'cause she was anyway, right?"

"So, you want to just leave her out there?" I couldn't believe what he was saying.

"I told her to stop going over the wall. I told her there's bad people out there and that it's stupid and dangerous."

"Not if you know what you're doing." I told him.

"Well, I'm not gonna let you go."

Shaking my head, I turned, not caring what he was going to do or not do. I'd figure it out myself, I didn't need his help.

"Carl." he warned, following me. "Carl, you're not going out there." he grabbed my arm.

I spun around and shoved him. "Back off."

He shoved me back.

"Alright." that's all it took.

I stepped forward and grabbed him, struggling to get a good grip as he shoved and pushed me away. But still, I managed to get him to the ground. Once he was down, I turned and started to walk off.

"I'll tell your dad. I'll tell your sister. They'll go out there to find you, then other people will, too." he called, still laying on the ground. "And then somebody's gonna die."

I stopped in my tracks.

He was right. If he told dad and Vickie, they'd come after me without hesitation. Both of them would risk everything for me. It's what you do for family. So as much as I wanted to help Enid, I couldn't risk everyone else...

"You saved my life and now I'm saving yours."

Shaking my head, I moved on, leaving him lying on the ground.

**VPOV**

I stood in the shower. I needed to scrub off the feeling of dirt and grime off me. Killing people and walkers always had me feeling gross. I guess that's kind of natural really. Standing in the shower I'd washed myself so much my skin had gone red as I cleaned away a layer of skin, needing to feel fresh again.

While the water ran over my body I'd found myself tear up as thoughts of Daryl, Glenn, Sasha, Abraham and Nicholas entered my mind. Everyone was sure Daryl, Sasha and Abraham would be back... But not Glenn and Nicholas. Names of people who had died were being painted on to one of the walls panels outside. Already they'd put Glenn and Nicholas on the list. It had made me feel sick to think one of my best friends was gone.

Even losing Nicholas hurt. He'd killed Aiden and Noah indirectly, and hurt me, but he was still one of our own. Having people was a necessity these days. Losing people was a hurt we all knew well. But it was Glenn that really hurt me. I couldn't stop thinking about him laying somewhere dead. As much as I hoped he was okay, I knew better. In a world like this chances of getting home safe were very slim.

If I lost Glenn, it would crush me. He was my best friend. He saved my life on that highway. I owed him so much. That wasn't all though, he'd also been the first stranger I'd bonded with after the world turned. There was an instant connection between us, one that I cherished. Maggie may be my best friend, but Glenn was practically a brother.

"Mum?" a knock on the door and Aly's voice had me turning the water off.

"Hold on." I called back as I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me, before opening the door for her. "Hey, what's up?" I smiled lightly at her.

She shrugged. "Can I go look for Tara?"

Leaning against the door frame I thought about it, wondering if letting her leave the house was a good idea at the moment. But I knew and trusted Tara. She'd take care of Aly like she'd done many times before.

"Okay." I gave a sharp nod. "Let me get dressed and then we'll go find her, yeah?"

Her face lit up. "Okay." she nodded before rushing off.

**MPOV**

"I thought you said we weren't going over the fence?"

"We're not." Aaron told me as I followed him through some long grass that was close to the walls. "We're going under." he knelt by a large drain in the ground. "This lead to a sewer that was part of the old neighbourhood that was here before they built this up. It'll take us under the wall." he unlocked the grate. "And hopefully past the walkers."

"Thanks." I looked down at him as he moved to go into the hole Grabbing his shoulder, I stopped him. "But I'm going on my own from here."

"Maggie."

"No." I wouldn't hear it.

"Please. I can't watch more names go up on that wall."

 

...

 

Walking ahead of Aaron by only a step or two, I kept my focus on moving forward. We were moving through the old sewer, the smell still pretty bad as water went up to my ankles. Though if it meant I could get to Glenn I didn't care.

Shinning the torch in front of me, I spoke up. "If he's alive-"

Aaron cut me off. "If?"

I went on as if he hadn't said anything. "He told Michonne he would've found some way to signal us if he got out. If he's alive, he's hurt or trapped, maybe taken. If he's alive, he needs my help. That's why I'm doing this. And if he's dead, I don't want to be waitin' on him." I turned to look at him. "None of this is your fault. You don't need to do this."

Stopping to stand next to me, he just looked me in the eyes. "People are dead. I was a part of that. And I have to live with that." he told me before moving forward.

We walked a little more, turning a corner as we neared what looked to be a crawl space. Though in front of that I could tell that there had once been a ladder that went up to an exit.

Only problem was, that ladder had rusted and fallen. That meant two things. One, we couldn't climb up. Two, it had acted as a barrier and had helped with the built-up junk that sat before us.

"I haven't been down here since the beginning." Aaron shone his light of the mess that was blocking our path. "This ladder must've fallen a long time ago."

"Let's try and get it out of here." grabbing a hold of the ladder, I nodded. "On there, ready?" once he had a hold I began to count. "One, two, three." we pulled, but it didn't budge. "One, two, three." using all our mite we pulled as hard as we could.

The ladder came flying back, causing Aaron to stumble and fall to the ground, hitting his head in the process.

"Aaron!"

"Ah. I'm okay. The ladder caught me."

Before I could move to help him the sound of gargled groans caught my attention. Turning back to where we'd pulled the ladder from I watched as a walker lifted its head from the muck. It had clearly been laying in the water for some time as it's skin was slimy and gross.

Pulling my knife out I moved forward to kill it.

Suddenly another walker appeared, this one just as gross as the other, as if it had been stuck down here and the sewers muck had grown onto the walker's body. This one moved faster, reaching out for me. I back up, trying to hold it back, but its skin was too slimy and simply peeled.

While I struggled against it the other walker had crawled out and moved to Aaron, who was still on the ground. But as much as I wanted to help him, I had my own problems to deal with. Putting all my concentration on the walker in front of me I tried to pull it back and grab a hold of my knife so I could kill it. It's slippery and wet skin didn't help as I continued to struggle to keep its teeth from my skin.

Out of nowhere a blade went through the skull of the walker before the walker fell to the ground, revealing Vickie. Aaron was standing now, leaning against the wall, his walker dead as well. It was pretty obvious that Vickie had killed it for him, just like she'd killed mine.

She just grinned. "Did you really think I'd let you go without me?"

**RPOV**

"Daryl, Sasha, Abraham, you copy?" I called into the walkie as I stood on the guard tower by the community gate.

From up here I could see a better view of what we were dealing with, and it wasn't good. Walkers stretched along the wall for as far as I could see.

"Rick?" Ron called form down below. "Can I come up?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

He made his way up the ladder before coming to stand next to me, looking down at all the walkers.

"You haven't seen it." I noted.

"No." he responded before going on. "Enid, she, uh...She used to sneak over the walls, spend time out there. You know, I don't know why, she just wanted to. But, um, I think she went out there after the attack."

"What, she's still out there?"

"Yeah." he gave a short nod. "We don't know where she is." he quickly added, "You know, but she knows how to take care of herself."

I highly doubted that.

"And we can't go out there." he added. "Carl wanted to try. I stopped him. I told him I'd tell you if he did. And then, um... I don't know. I just thought I should tell you-"

I cut him off. "Do you know where he is now?"

"Yeah, he's back at the house. I saw him on the porch with Judith."

I looked towards our house before looking down at the walkers, thinking over what I should do. I wanted to make sure Carl- and the rest of my family- were safe. But I needed to keep an eye out for the others.

"I can keep guard if you want." he offered.

I gestured to the walkers. "Down there, they're guarding the place now. This is just about keeping an eye out for the others that aren't back, looking for a sign from Glenn."

"All right." he shrugged.

Turning to him I could see he was serious, and I trusted he'd stay and do what was needed. So, I turned to the ladder, ready to leave.

"Um..." he stopped me. "So, I was thinking about what you said back at the quarry. And, uh, I mean, you're right. I need to know how to protect myself and my mum and brother. This place." he hesitated before going on. "So, can you teach me how to shoot?"

Thinking it over for a moment I then nodded, pulling my gun out, taking out all the bullets, and aiming it at the walkers. "There's your target."

He took the gun and held it in front of him, aiming it at the walkers.

"Just relax." I told him, watching as he listened.

**VPOV**

After finding Tara and letting Aly hang out with her, I'd decided to take a walk. What I hadn't expected was to see Aaron and Maggie head down into some old sewer. So, me being me, I'd followed. Which is how I'd found them struggling against walkers.

I'd saved them both easily enough, but things didn't run too smoothly afterwards. Aaron had been hurt and his head was bleeding. Both Maggie and I wanted him to go to the infirmary seeing as it looked like he'd need stitches. He- of course- hadn't listened. Now here we were, the three of us walking through the sewers, looking for a way out so we could find the others.

Finally, we came to a gate that lead outside. But as we neared it I felt my heart sink... we were still too close to the walkers.

"We're still too close." Maggie noted, seeing what I saw.

"We just have to get through a few of them, then we're gone." Aaron wasn't giving up.

"No." Maggie grabbed his arm to stop him.

He ignored her, grabbing the gate. "You ready?"

Maggie sighed. "No, we can't."

"She's right." I shook my head. "There's too many, and we're too close."

Aaron looked from me and hen to Maggie. "You both can stay, I'll go."

"No." but when Aaron ignored her, Maggie yelled. "No!"

Aaron turned to her, eyes wide. "Maggie."

"It's over!" she shouted.

Some walkers had heard her and were now pushing up against the gate, blocking our exit as they reached in to try and grab us, snarling and moaning loudly.

"I burned his last picture of me, because I said he wasn't gonna need it any more. Because I was never gonna be away from him again." Maggie was on the verge of tears. I could see it as she went on. "I'm pregnant."

Everything inside me fell deeper as I looked to my best friend. "What?"

Maggie shook her head. "He didn't want me to go out there and I said, 'Yes'. And if I would've gone, if I was with him, maybe I could've helped him." she looked to Aaron and myself. "I don't know if he's alive." she began to cry. "He would've shown me by now. That's what Michonne said." she took a deep breath. "I just want to see his face. I can't."

My arms wrapped around her as I pulled her to me in a tight hug as I felt myself begin to cry. All the fears and anxieties I'd been trying to bottle up inside me seemed to explode at that moment as I felt my own worry for Glenn grow, and my wonder of Daryl begin to turn to heartache. Had we lost Glenn? Had I lost Daryl?

Maggie pulled away, looking at Aaron as her hand slipped into mine. "I don't get to know what will happen. I don't get to know why it happened, what I did right or wrong." she continued to cry. "Not now. I have to live with that. You do, too."

Looking at her, seeing her crying and breaking down like this, it affected Aaron as well. He threw his arms around her, the two embracing as I stood there, watching the walkers, feeling my own heart crumble away.

**RPOV**

I was walking the streets at night, heading for Jessie's place, when I found Deanna fighting with a walker nearly twice her size. It was on the ground while she stood over it, stabbing its chest with something I couldn't quite make out. Running, I pulled my knife out and crouched down, stabbing the walker in the head without hesitation.

Once the thing fell limp, Deanna stopped. Breathing heavily, covered in blood, she looked down at the walker's head, where a 'W' was carved into the skin.

"Carol said she got one of them. But she couldn't find the body. He must've been under there." I gestured to some lattice that sat by an opening under a house.

Deanna began to get back on to her feet. I reached for her hand, moving slowly and carefully as I helped her up. When she was standing, she looked up at me.

"I want to live." she told me simply. "I want this place to stay standing."

"You need to lead them."

She gave an unamused chuckle. "They don't need me, Rick. What they need is you." looking away she moved to a basket and some food that she must have dropped. As she began to pick it all up I moved to help, crouching down next to her. "What I wanted for this place, was it really just pie in the sky?" she asked, looking to me again.

"No." I reassured her, telling the truth.

With the food, back in the basket, she stood and picked it up. Giving me one last look she then walked off, heading back towards her house.

**MPOV**

I'd left Aaron at the guard tower by the community gate, telling him I'd be back. I would be, I just had to do something first.

Walking up to the wall where the names of the people we'd lost had been written up I opened my water bottle and poured some water on to my sleeve as I reached the wall. Lifting my sleeve, I began to rub at Glenn's name, washing it away.

He was not gone. I was not going to give up on him so easily. I couldn't.

Aaron came to stand next to me, doing the same to Nicholas' name. "When he gets back, it's worth mentioning that Aaron, Erin, works for a boy or a girl, depending on the spelling." he smiled at me. "Just saying."

I'd stopped rubbing and stood there, looking at the wall as I listened to him. A smile crept on to my face and then, I simply went back to rubbing Glenn's name off the wall.

**RPOV**

Jessie looked up at me as I walked into her garage. "Those bodies by the graveyard, the reason I wanted to wait was..." I sighed, shifting on the spot. "Was Glenn. We don't know if he's still out there. And Daryl, Sasha, Abraham. I wanted them back by now. I wanted these things gone." gestured to the wall. "I just wanted to wait."

She nodded. "You said it could go on a while."

"I did and it could."

"Rick, it already has. They could still be alive. We're not moving past that. You know, it's just... Right here, in this moment..." she shook her head." This is it, this is what it is."

"'This is what life looks like now.'" I quoted something I'd heard she'd said earlier today.

"You heard about that?" she asked. I nodded and she went on. "I wasn't saying there wasn't a future. There's gotta be. Tell me there's more."

Stepping forward, knowing exactly what I was doing and watching her reaction, I reached forward, brushing some of her hair behind her ear before cupping the side of her head as I leaned forward, pressing my lips to hers.

**VPOV**

I sat on the front porch step, looking up at the stars as tears filled my eyes. Fingers fiddling with the ring around my finger I found my mind unable to stop thinking about Daryl.

When I was younger I'd always been grossed out by couples. I'd never understood how a girl could like a guy so much that she'd hurt if he hurt. Family was different of course, but the idea of having a boyfriend of my own had grossed me out.

_"One day, you'll find a guy and you'll fall head over heels for him." mum grinned as we baked some cookies._

_I'd told her how my friend's sister had been kissing a boy while I'd been visiting. It had freaked and grossed me out. Just the idea of my lips touching a guy's had me cringing._

_I shook my head. "Boys, are gross."_

_"Yes, they are." she laughed, nodding. "But you'll still find someone. You'll fall in love and nothing else will make sense._ "

_I'd looked up at her, watching as she looking down at the mixing bowl, deep in thought. "Just like you and dad? You love each other, right?"_

_I didn't know it at the time, but mum was pregnant with Carl then. It was still early so she wasn't telling anyone just in case._

_Nodding, she smiled down at me. "Just like me and dad." resting her hand on my head, she stroked my hair. "You wait and see. I'll be right one day. You'll find someone handsome, and caring-"_

_"And smart?" I asked._

_"And smart." she nodded. "And you'll love him more than you've loved anyone else before."_

_"Will he love me?" I asked, suddenly wishing more than anything that he would._

_I didn't know who this mystery man was, but I knew I wanted him to love me. I felt like it was something I needed._

_"Oh, he'll love you. He'll love you so much, and you won't understand why. But he'll protect and care for you. You'll come first, always. Nothing will matter more than your safety." she sighed. "He'll do stupid things, and he'll mess up. He'll get hurt, and sometimes you won't know if he'll come back home some days. But you'll still love him, and he'll love you."_

_Smiling, I turned back to the mixing bowl, waiting for her to keep cooking. "Well, he better not be too gross." I shrugged, and mum just laughed._

The memory hurt...

They should have been back by now. All of them. Sasha, Abraham, Nicholas, Glenn... Daryl. I should have gone with them. I should have left once the intruders were gone. I should have waited for Daryl by the tractor place and gone with him then. I should have...

It was too late now. I was stuck in here, surrounded by walkers, with no real way out. I mean, I could get out. I could climb the wall, get a distraction for the walkers and then jump down and run. I could climb up and onto the truck Spencer had stopped, and jump off the end of that. I could follow the sewers a little more than Maggie, Aaron and myself had, and find a way out. I could...

But I knew I shouldn't, that I couldn't. The risk was too high and if anything happened to me, it would kill the people I love. If dad found out, or Maggie, or Carl, or anyone... They'd all come after me, and if they got hurt it would kill me. So here I was, stuck.

"Mum?" Aly's little voice called from inside the house.

I turned to look at the front door as I wiped tears from my eyes. "Out here, sweetie."

The pitter patter of her feet got louder until she stopped in the door way, holding Daryl the Deer to her chest. "I can't sleep."

Sighing I nodded and got to my feet before moving towards her. "Okay, come on." grabbing her hand I lead her back towards and up the stairs as I moved us to my room.

Houdini was laying in Aly's door way, his head poking out. At the sight of us he rushed over and into my room, right behind Aly and myself.

"Up you get." I patted the bed.

Houdini jumped up and curled himself into a ball at the end of the bed, while Aly pulled herself up and crawled over to lay on my side. I climbed under the blankets on Daryl's side, letting the smell of him surround me.

"I'm scared." Aly whispered.

"Why?"

"There's walkers, and Daryl and Glenn aren't back. Sasha and Abraham are gone, too." she looked up at me. "Are they dead?"

Sighing, I shook my head. "No."

"How do you know?"

"I didn't see it happen." I answered simply.

"Are we gonna die?" her voice shook as she asked that question.

"Oh, sweetie." I pulled her closer to me. "I will do everything I can to keep you safe. You know that."

Nodding against me, I felt her body shake lightly as she began to cry. "I wish I was as brave as you." she held on to my shirt tightly. "I love you, mummy."

I kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too." stroking her hair I watched her as she slowly fell asleep, curled up against me, holding my shirt with a grip so tight her knuckles were white.

**  
**

**Chapter 7**

**Should've Killed Them**

**DPOV**

" _All right._ " Sasha called over the walkie.

"That's twenty?"

" _It will be, six forty-two is a mile ahead."_ Sasha answered. " _We gotta put distance between us and them before the turnoff."_

" _So, floor it._ " Abraham spoke up.

"A'right, try to keep up."

" _Daryl, have you looked at this car?"_  Sasha asked with a chuckle. " _Believe me, we want to get back there, too._ "

I believed that, but I was sure I wanted to get back more. We hadn't heard from any of the others, which had my worry growing. Sasha and Abraham were sure it was only because of the distance between us and Alexandria, but that didn't ease any of my thoughts.

Vic was the one thing on my mind. I had no idea if she'd gotten back home safely. I have no idea if she got caught up in what had been happening there. I have no idea if she got stuck with the walker herd. I knew nothing. It was killing me.

As I was riding ahead, going through a small town, suddenly, out of nowhere, people started shooting at us.

Speeding up I tried to get through, turning sharply around some abandoned vehicles in a parking lot. I lost control as the bike toppled over, sending me to the ground. I knew I was hurt, but with the shooters still shooting and now coming after me I didn't have a lot of options. So, I got back on the bike and rode off, moving through a small group of walkers and down a dirt road, making sure I moved in a zigzag so the bullets missed me.

 

...

 

I'd lost both the shooters, and Sasha and Abraham. As much as I wanted to go make sure Sasha and Abraham were okay, I couldn't. I was hurt, and needed to fix myself up first. So I'd ridden into a burnt-up forest, dropped my bike once I was far enough in, and let myself fall to the ground.

The sound of a snarl had me look to my right where a walker which was barely anything but bone was laying on the ground, a biker's helmet on its head, covering its face. Knowing it couldn't get me or move I let my head fall as I laid there, looking up at the sky, catching my breath and thinking over my next move. But as much as I knew I had things to do, like find the others and take a look at where I was hurt, I couldn't get my mind off home. I couldn't stop myself from wondering about Vic... I knew there was nothing I could do as long as I was out here, so instead of worrying about her, I decided it was time I took action.

Getting to my feet, I pulled my bike up before getting a good grip of the handles so I could push it through the forest. I had no real idea where I was going, but was moving anyway. I knew that was the only way I was getting home. Only thing was... I wasn't moving fast enough. Not with this heavy bike and injury.

Finding a bush, I dropped the bike and used the eaves to hide it. I'd come back for it later. For now, I couldn't have it holding me back. I'd find the others and then get the bike.

Pulling out the walkie, I stepped over the bike. "Sasha. Abraham, you there?" I called, but got nothing back.

There was no point in trying again, if they heard me they would have radioed back. So instead I took my glove off, seeing that it was soaked in blood. Moving carefully, I pulled my jacket off as well, as I tried to get a look at my arm I'd landed on and hurt. I was going to need stitches. With the blood, I couldn't see much, but I knew that at least.

Draping the jacket over my bike I stopped at the sound of something moving behind me. Pulling the bush leaves over both my bike and jacket I then grabbed my crossbow and started towards the noise, needing to know if it was a walker, one of the shooters, or something else.

As I rounded a tree I found two girls around Vic's age. One was taller than the other by not much, and had long, straight, dark hair. The other had short blonde hair. Both stood at the sight of me, their hands in the air.

"You found us, okay?" the dark haired one said. "Here we are. We earned what we took." her eyes flicked over my shoulder then.

I spun around, ready to defend myself if need be. But I was hit across the head before I could do anything else.

 

...

 

I was in and out of consciousness. I knew it was dark. I knew I was tied up. I knew there was a fire in front of me. Whenever I managed to wake up I'd open my eyes just enough to see that there was now a guy with the girls, carving away at a small wooden thing. He was thin like the others, clearly in bad shape. Covered in dirt like the girls as well. His dark blonde hair was tied up and ratty, which made him look even worse.

If they hadn't attacked me, I would have brought them back home...

"Probably just another soldier from one of the outposts." the guy spoke to the girls. "Probably hates him, too."

 

...

 

One of the girls, the dark haired one, reached for my crossbow while I was still pretty out of it.

"You know how to use one?" she asked the guy she was with as she tucked my crossbow into a bag.

"Yeah. Never liked using them to hunt." he answered.

 

...

 

I was still pretty dazed, and it was still night. I wasn't sure how long I'd been like this, but the others were still there, talking to themselves.

"We pick up Patty, then we're gone. Okay?" the guy told the girls. "This is the last day we're gonna live like this."

 

...

 

I woke up, with a head. It was morning, the sound of crickets chirping coming from everywhere. My back and neck hurt from how I'd been sitting last night, and my wrists ached from being tied.

"Get up." the guy, who was crouched in front of me, tabbed my leg. "Hey! Get up!" he cocked his gun, pointing it at my head. "We're movin'. Here's the deal. You don't say shit and I don't kill you."

"I ain't who you think." I told him.

He moved the gun closer to my face. "Say something else." he nodded. "Go ahead." when I didn't say anything, and kept my mouth shut, he grabbed my ties, pulling me to my feet. "Follow them." he gestured towards the girls who then started to walk ahead while the guy stayed behind me, gun to my back.

Things were not looking good. These people were clearing not going to let me go. So, I had to think. I had to figure out how I could get away... I just had to wait and think until something came up.

 

...

 

The dark haired one reached into the big duffel bag she was carrying and pulled out a water bottle, offering it to the blonde. "Here. Drink the rest."

The blonde took the bottle and looked down at it. "We should save it."

"We'll find some more. Drink." the dark haired one insisted. "you're supposed to stay hydrated. It all works together."

"Yeah, it does." the blond sighed before taking a drink of the water.

When she handed it back, the brunette stopped walking, offering me the last bit of water. "Have it." she nodded.

When I didn't take it, the guy grabbed it off her, putting it in my face. "We don't need you falling down. Drink.

Taking the bottle, I did as they said. These people were clearly not thinking straight. They were on the run from someone, I'd gotten that much, and weren't in good shape. The last thing I needed was to piss them off.

"They find us, maybe we give you to them." the guy told me as I finished the water. "They let us call it even. See, we're reasonable people. Everybody's got their code. You feel you got to kneel, that's far enough. We don't." he took the empty bottle from me. "Let's go."

 

...

 

"Can't believe we're back." the blonde spoke up as we continued to walk through the burnt down forest.

"It's not home anymore." the brunette told her. "It's better than where we were."

"This is a pit stop." the guy added, still walking behind me. "We pick up Patty, nothing more than that."

"How'd you do it?" the blonde asked, looking around her.

"You saw where we left the truck?" the guy asked, getting a nod from the blonde. "We opened the valve and drove all the way in from Farmview Road, ran from the tree line till we got to the pavement, lit up a matchbook from the Sweetwater and dropped it in on the trail, and we just ran for the car. Got in, and the dead ones were there. They were beatin' on the hood and then... And then boom! Knocked them on their asses and I took an axe to each one."

"We just watched it go up." the brunette added. "No more moans, no more of that wailing. It was just the fire, just burning them all away."

"You did all this?" I asked, speaking up for the first time in a while.

"It was right at the start." the brunette told me. "Everything stopped. TV, the radio. We were here. The forest was full of them. And the others one in town, they were drawn to it. They just walked right into the flames. We got most of them. Thought we ended it for us, and she was in D.C." she gestured to the blonde. "We thought everyone was fighting them wherever they were."

"Yeah, we thought that was what everybody was doing." the guy nodded. "Fighting it, so we'd all win together... We were stupid." he sighed, moving ahead.

I stopped in my tracks. "Y'all don't think you're being stupid right now?"

They all stopped, the guy pulling out his gun as he moved towards me again, aiming at my face. "you're saying I should kill you? I mean it. Are you gonna try and pull something on us? Or are we just being thick here by not removing all doubt? Right now, by me not pulling this trigger, is that a mistake? I'm serious. I really wanna know. You made the choice to kill for someone else. To have them own you for a roof over your head and three squares. So maybe I'm not considering all aspects here. You tell me. Am I being stupid?"

"No." I answered with after only a seconds pause.

I couldn't let these people kill me. I couldn't let them keep me from getting home. If that meant I stayed tied up until my moment came, then I would. If that mean doing and saying what they wanted, then I would. There was nothing keeping me from getting back to Vic.

I shifted on my feet. "Look, I got somewhere to be. I got people waitin' on me. We can make a deal. I could help you out." I offered.

"You're one of them. You're hurt and you're alone, and you'd say anything." the guy wasn't having any of it. "We should've never trust you people to begin with." he gestured for me to move. "Go on. Keep moving."

 

...

 

We came to the end of the trees. Here, they were green and still alive. The fire hadn't gotten this far. As we stepped out, into a small opening, the others moved to the fence only a few feet away as they looked down at the sight in front of them.

"Son of a bitch." the guy scanned the grounds of the fuel company we stood by, looking at all the walkers inside the fence. "Patty."

"She could be..." the brunette shifted on her feet as she sighed.

"No, she's gone." the guy shook his head.

The brunette nodded. "Then we make another plan."

The guy turned to her. "Yeah, we get out of here. That's the plan."

"Then that's the plan." the brunette shrugged.

"You guys don't have to do this for me." the blonde spoke up.

"Look, it was the right thing for all of us." the brunette insisted.

The blonde looked to her. "Is this the right thing? Even if just you guys went back now, if you just told them that it was me..."

"No." the brunette shook her head. "We'll find a way."

"Just think about it." The blonde wasn't letting it go.

The brunette wasn't giving in either. "No."

"Look, maybe we don't get as far-" the guy started.

But suddenly the blonde collapsed, the other two moving to help her.

Now was my time. I grabbed their bag that they'd dropped and made a run for the trees, hearing them calling after and shoot at me as I kept running off, knowing I had to get as far away as possible.

 

...

 

I jumped over a fallen trunk, getting to the floor and hiding behind it and I pulled on the rope around my wrists with my teeth. Using the trunk as well, I managed to get my hands free before reaching for the bag and pulling out the walking.

Panting hard and fast, I called over the radio. "Sasha, Abraham, are you there?" static was all I got back.

A twig snapped and a walker moaned from behind me. I turned and saw it walking this way, getting closer.

Moving quickly, I reached back into the bag, trying to get my crossbow out. But they'd tucked it in good, and as much as I tried, it wasn't budging.

The walker kept coming, getting closer and closer.

My heart, which was already beating fast, was now hammering in my chest as I struggled with the crossbow. Pulling and tugging, adjusting the bag in any way I could, I tried to get the crossbow out.

Finally, it was out. Luckily it was set, so as I turned and leaned back, the walker now only a few steps away from me, I pulled the trigger killing it in an instant.

Letting myself relax a little, but not completely, I got to my feet, ready to figure out what to do next. That's when my eyes landed on the bag as it sat by my feet. There, sitting on top of everything else, was a cooler, with the word 'Insulin' written on it.

_Well, shit._

 

...

 

I found the three of them sitting on a log, the blonde still in pretty bad shape. But I wasn't going to let them fool me. If she was sick, if she wasn't, it didn't matter. I was gonna do what I came to do and then get the hell out of there.

Aiming my crossbow at them, I moved in sight. "Drop the gun! Drop it!"

The guy had stood up at the sound of my voice. But after seeing me aiming my crossbow at him, he thought twice and lowered the gun.

"Give it to me." I reached out. Once the gun was in my hand I tucked it away, taking a couple steps back. "Came all this way. What you got for the duffel? You put me through too much shit just to give it back. Principle of the thing. What you got besides this gun?"

"Nothing." the blonde answered.

I looked from her, to the guy. "What was that thing you were carvin'?"

Shaking his head, he pulled it out of his pocket. It was a little wooden soldier. "My grandfather taught me-"

I cut him off. "Don't care. It'll do." I reached my hand out, and he handed the thing over. I tucked it into my pocket before tossing the bag on the ground. "Take it. It's all there."

The guy cautiously bent down and grabbed the bag, handing over to the girls.

"Good luck." I told them, turning away. "You're gonna need it."

A loud noise caught my attention as something big and heavy pushed its way through the trees, snapping and pushing them over. I quickly dashed behind a push, watching as the heavy thing- which was a truck- came into view.

It stopped, men jumping out and already walking beside it gathering. Guns in their hands, I realized at that moment that these were probably the same people who'd attacked Sasha, Abraham and myself.

"Let's end this." one of the men called.

"It's ours." the brunette girl called back. "We earned what we took."

But the others didn't care. "You're gonna return what you took. You're gonna pay for the gas it took to come out here, and for all the time these men took out. It's over. You know the rules."

"Your rules are batshit!" the brunette yelled.

"We're not going back, Wade. We're done kneeling." the guy yelled to the others as well.

Wade I guess, called out again. "Don't change the subject, asshole." he whistled, and the truck and men began to move.

I did a quick look around to see our options and caught sight of men moving in from different directions, all armed. The ones who'd taken me last night were on their feet, getting ready to move, heading right for the others.

"Come on." I stopped them. "Hey, that way." I gestured to the only way that was clear. "Come on. Go! Go!" the blonde was still weak, so I grabbed her. "Go!" I told the others.

We ran as fast as we could, but with the blonde being the way she was we weren't getting far enough. Sooner or later the others would catch up. That meant I'd be stuck, again, unable to get home. Like I said before, nothing was keeping me from getting back to Vic.

I stopped with the others, behind a bush, placing the blonde on the ground near the brunette before looking around to see what we should do next.

Knowing we were outnumbered and in danger, I found I had no choice but to hand the gun back over. So, I pulled it out. "Hey." I tapped the guy's shoulder. When he turned, I offered the gun. "Take it."

He took it before turning back around, watching as the people chasing them got closer and closer.

" _Eyes open. Cover your quadrant._ " Wade's voice called over a walkie that was nearby. " _Go to alpha channel._ "

Movement caught my attention as my eyes landed on a burnt walker stuck behind a rock, it's arm swaying in the air as it tried to get free.

One of the other men was getting closer to both us and the rock the walker was stuck behind. It was clear they weren't going to stop looking unless we did something, and if they caught us things were not going to end well. So, I grabbed a branch of the bush we were hiding behind, rustling the leaves to get the guy's attention.

It worked. He'd heard the leaves and turned, starting to head this way.

As he rounded the rock, the walker grabbed him easily and bit into his arm, causing the man to yell out and hit the walker's head with the butt of his gun, killing it. Though it was too late, he was bit.

"Wade, I'm bit!" he yelled, kneeling by another rock, resting his arm on it. "Wade, I'm bit!" Wade came rushing over to help the guy. "Take it off me." he told him.

"Damn it." Wade took his belt off.

"Do it. Just take it off."

Wade tired the belt around the guy's arm. "Get your watch after." he said before pulling out a machete and bringing it down on the guy's arm, cutting it clean off.

The guy screamed and cried out.

"All right, that's it." Wade called into his walkie. "Time to go home. Cam got a boo-boo."

 _"You sure?"_  someone else asked over the radio.

"Hell, yeah." Wade answered. "He only wanted to take this so far. And he only wants ass that's willing, you know?" he finished before putting the walkie away and grabbing the watched off the severed arm. "Come on, Cam, let's walk it off." he helped the other guy to his feet and walked them both off.

After a moment, once they were gone, the guy next to me turned. "We thought you were with them." eh shook his head. "We knock you over the head, tie you up, threaten to kill you. Why the hell did you come back?"

I grunted, shrugging. "Maybe I'm stupid, too."

 

...

 

"So, you know 'em, so you thought I was one of them?" I asked as we walked through the burnt forest still.

"Where we were, we were there since the beginning. We still didn't know everyone." the guy answered. "Back when we first threw in with them, it was as good a place as any. And as things got harder, people got harder. Human nature kicked in and it became a truly unique kind of shit show."

"People will trade anything for safety, for knowing they they're safe." the brunette added.

"Everything." the guy nodded. "So, they got nothing left except just... Existing."

"There ain't nobody safe anymore." I noted.

I knew that better than anyone considering the amount of times I'd tried keeping Vic and my group safe. But no matter how hard I tried, they always got hurt. Always.

I sighed. "Can't promise people that anyhow."

"You could promise the people who want to hear it." the guy shrugged.

Suddenly the blonde ran off.

"Hey, Tina! Hold up!" the guy called before we all followed her.

She stopped in front of a burnt down greenhouse, looking down at the two bodies encased by melted glass. "Carla and Delly. That's them." she stepped forward.

"Me and Tina used to babysit them when they were kids." the brunette explained. "Everyone said that they went out north when it all started. We didn't know."she explained as we watched Tina- the blonde- pull some flower weeds from the ground and move to crouch in-between the bodies.

"I did this." the guy said.

The brunette shook her head. "We did this."

Tina laid the flower over one of the body's chest.

She screamed as the body moved inside the encasing. It was a walker, growling at her. She got to her feet to move but tripped, landing on the other body. Both body casings shattered as the walkers grabbed her. Before any of us could move or react the walker's bit into her.

It had all happened so fast I couldn't believe it. I rushed forward, killing both walkers and the guy held the brunette back, who was crying at the sight in front of her.

When the walkers were dead the brunette rushed forward, getting to her knees and pulling Tina to her as they cried. The walkers must have punctured an artery, or maybe the glass had, because before long Tina was dead.

"I'm sorry!" the brunette cried. "I'm so sorry, baby! We had to try. We had to try. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."

Watching the brunette, I felt my heart twist. From this angle, where I stood, she almost looked like Vic holding and older Aly...

"Here." I stepped forward. "I got her."

The guy nodded, moving to the brunette, lifting her away. "Thank you." he told me before pulling her away, letting me take care of Tina.

 

...

 

Digging some holes for the bodies, I watched the guy next to me, before turning to the brunette who was clearly and understandably in shock. These people weren't bad people. They were desperate and unstable, but they weren't bad...

I turned to the guy. "Hey. How many walkers you killed?" when he looked up at me I shrugged. "Just answer the question."

"A lot. A couple dozen at least."

"How many people you killed?"

"None." he answered, going back to digging.

"Why?"

"Why haven't I killed anybody? Because if I did, there'd be no going back. there's no going back to how things were."

"I'm from a place where people are still like they were. More or less, better or worse." I told him.

He didn't say anything, but he knew what I was saying. I was inviting them back. I was offering a roof over their head and food in their stomachs. I was offering- not promising- somewhere safe. He just turned to the brunette for a moment before turning back to his hole, continuing to dig.

 

...

 

"I can walk it from here, till we meet up with my friends." I told them as I lifted the bush off my bike. They agreed to come back with me. "They got a car, you can ride with them."

"How many friends did you say there were?" the guy asked.

"I didn't." I answered. "There's two of them."

"Where are they?"

"We're gonna find out." I told him as I pushed my bike.

"How do you know they even got away? That they didn't get taken?" he was clearly not convinced.

"I don't." I called over my shoulder.

The sound of a gun cocking had me stop.

"Oh, damn it." I dropped my bike and turned, reaching to pull my crossbow over my shoulder.

Before I could, the guy aimed his gun at me. "I'm sorry." he sighed. "Give her the crossbow."

"You gonna go back?" I started, not doing what he said. "You'll be safe?"

"Shut up!"

Ignoring him I went on. "Ain't nowhere safe no more."

"Give her the crossbow." he repeated.

"You'll kneel?" he shot the tree behind me, my words pissing him off. I barely flinched, but it was enough to get me moving. I couldn't die out here. I wouldn't.

Pulling my crossbow off my shoulder, keeping my eyes on him, I handed it over to the girl. Once she had it over her shoulder she took the gun from the guy before he lifted the bike, both climbing on, gun still aimed at me.

Reaching into the bag, the girl pulled out some bandages. "Patch yourself up." she tossed them towards me. "We're sorry."

"You're gonna be." I told her, not moving from the spot, watching as they then rode off.

Once they were gone I lifted the bandages of the ground and went to put them in my pocket. I felt the wooden soldier sitting there. Pulling it out I looked down at it, shaking my head.  _I should've killed them_.

 

...

 

I made it back to the little dirt road I'd first rode on in the forest. The walker with the helmet on was still there, still stuck, still alive. Moving to leave, I caught sight of a sign on the ground, dirt covering it. Crouching down and reaching forward, I brushed the dirt away, seeing that it was a sign for the fuel company I'd been at with the others earlier. Getting back to my feet I looked around, wondering...

Some bushed were up ahead, and by the looks of things, there was something behind it. Moving forward I pulled the bushes away, revealing a fuel truck. I walked to the driver's door, opening it up and killing the walker inside with my knife- that the others had thankfully left- before pulling the walker out and climbing in.

It was time to find the others.

 

...

 

Sasha and Abraham- who was dressed in a military suit- had been holed up in the small town we'd been attacked in They'd left a trail for me, and stayed, hoping I'd come back. When I did the three of us piled into the truck and headed for home. All of us couldn't wait to finally get back, and figure out what the hell had happened while we were gone.

Driving along the road, I pulled out the walkie. "Rick, you copy? Anybody?" I went to put the walkie down, but the sound of muffled voices caught our attention. "Say it again."

" _Help_."

**  
**

**Chapter 8**

**How Do You Do It?**

**RPOV**

I was walking the walls, making sure everything was staying intact. The last thing we needed now was for the walls to fall. As I moved around, I found Morgan in a field, doing some kind of martial arts fighting thing with his stick. I wasn't really sure. All I knew was he was practicing something, and he was close by.

Needing to talk to him, I headed his way. "Morgan."

He stopped and turned to me. "Morning."

"We haven't talked. We should. A little later, okay?" I told him.

He gave a short nod and small smile. "Okay."

Moving on I walked down the road. Up ahead I could see Maggie and Vickie in the guard tower by the front gate. They'd been there all morning...

**VPOV**

I stood next to Maggie, both of us carrying a gun each, both of us watching the horizon. I'd come here earlier this morning in the hope that Daryl would come back soon. When I saw Maggie, still up, guarding, I climbed up and joined her. We hadn't said much. We both understood why we were up here.

Dad climbed up, coming to stand in-between the two of us. "You don't have to be up here so much."

"We won't be." Maggie spoke for the two of us. "This is the direction they'd come in. If Glenn sends up a signal, it'll be from out there."

Dad nodded. "Yeah."

"Or it won't be." Maggie added.

Dad turned to look at her as my hand grabbed a hold of hers. "When we go out there, it's never easy, it's never simple. It's always a fight. But we've come back from harder things. From further away. Glenn, Daryl, Abraham and Sasha, they will, too." dad reassured her.

Maggie nodded, squeezing my hand, silently thanking me for the support, and offering me some as well.

"Maybe we don't wait for them to be back." dad shrugged, watching the walkers now. "We should start figuring out how to draw the walkers away. We have some food and water to last us a while, and the walls are holding." he nodded. "We can take out time, really think this through. Do it right. Clear it so they can walk right in."

A small smile crept on to Maggie's face as she thought it over before speaking. "I saw Judith in the house the other day. She starting to... She's starting to look like Lori."

Dad nodded, looking away from her. "Yeah."

"Made me happy." Maggie added.

Dad smiled lightly. "Me, too." with that he moved back to the ladder and climbed down, knowing neither Maggie or I were leaving this post anytime soon.

When he was down, I watched him walk away, wondering if he thought about mum like I did. No day went by without her coming to my mind. I tried my best to do whatever I could so I'd remember her. Sometimes I hummed songs to Aly, that mum used to hum to me. I told Aly stories mum told me. I still wore the necklace dad had given me- the one with mum's wedding ring on it... Time may have past, but I still loved my mum like she was still around.

"Does Glenn know about the baby?"

Maggie looked to me. "Yes." she gave me a small smile. "He knows."

Nodding, I turned to look down at the walkers. "Doesn't it scare you? You were there when Judith was born. You saw what happened to my mum..."

"I was, and I did. Yes, I'm scared. But Glenn and I, we love each other. I guess it just seems like the next step." she paused a moment before going on. "Have you and Daryl ever talked about it?"

I shook my head. "No, but I've thought about it." I admitted. "I've never loved anyone the way I love him. It makes me want more. It makes me want to have a child with him, to make something with him. But..." I sighed. "I wonder if he'd ever want to."

Maggie's hand squeezed mine. "I think you'd be surprised." she said before we both fell into silence again.

**CPOV**

I followed dad, Ron following me. We were going to teach him how to shoot today, and were moving to a spot where we could do that without being disturbed. As we walked, we saw Gabriel hanging up flyers on trees and posts.

_PRAYER CIRCLE_

_BY THE_

_SOLAR PANELS_

_TODAY_

_AT_

_1:00_

 

Dad took one look at them, and the moment he was close enough, pulled each down, screwing the paper up.

"Dad." I sighed. But he ignored me and kept walking, so I dropped it and kept following.

 

...

 

"Handguns will be a little better for your first go." dad told Ron as he showed him the gun he's brought. "Magazine release. Slide release. Thumb safety." he showed him the basics.

"That's stuff's easy, right, dad?"

Dad nodded. "Yeah." he agreed before going on. "Empty magazine." he showed Ron before putting it back in place. "Empty chamber. See it?"

"Yeah." Ron nodded.

With that, dad got in place. "Someone's in front of you, they have a gun."

"You're gonna be scared." I shrugged. "You will be."

Dad went on. "Your body's gonna tense, you won't have time to think. You're just gonna want to pull the trigger when you get it in front of you." dad showed him what he meant. "But you'll miss and you'll be dead." he lowered the gun. "You have to get it up to your eye." he demonstrated what he meant this time.

"You've got to be strong enough to wait for your moment." I explained.

Ron looked from me to my dad. "Can I, uh..." he gestured to the gun.

Dad handed it over and moved so Ron could take his spot. He watched as Ron lifted the gun in front of him. "Hey, your finger doesn't touch the trigger until you're ready to shoot." he reached forward and moved Ron's pointed to the side of the gun.

Ready, Ron stood and held the gun in front of him, watching the wall, taking a deep breath, before pulling the trigger. The gun clicked- seeing as it was empty- and he lowered it.

"Keep that one with you." dad told him. "Get a feel of what it's like to carry one around."

"Can I shoot it?" when both dad and I looked to Ron, he shrugged. "Maybe. Like down at the walkers."

"Not with things how they are. The walls are strong, but we're lucky the walkers are spread out." dad told him. "We don't want to pull them all to one spot."

"What about, like, target practice in the center of town? 'Cause then the sound will spread out in each direction... Or maybe we could use, like, silencers or something like that." Ron suggested. But he soon realized it wasn't going to happen. "But, uh... I mean, we probably don't want to waste bullets right now, huh?" he sighed. "I just want to learn more."

I nodded. "You will."

**VPOV**

I'd finally climbed down from the guard tower. Someone had come to relieve Maggie and myself, so we'd headed off to go get something to eat. On the way, we'd bumped into Carol, who'd asked me to follow her- apparently my dad and some others were having a little meeting that wanted me to be a part of. So, I did as she asked, telling Maggie I'd find her later.

That's how I ended up sitting next to my dad, with Carol and Michonne, as the four of us watched Morgan who was seated in front of us.

He looked to each face. "What's going on?"

Dad sighed. "When I was coming back, I tried to cut off the herd with the RV, lead the walkers away." he explained. "But five of those people with the W's in their foreheads, they stopped me. They tried to kill me, shot up the RV." he nodded. "Now, Carol says she saw you. That you wouldn't kill those people."

It was true. I'd seen it too. Morgan had tied one of them up, but he hadn't killed a single person...

"Did you let any of them go?" Carol asked.

"Yes, I did." he answered simply, without hesitation.

I shook my head. "Why?"

Looking to me, he shrugged. "I didn't want to kill five people I didn't have to kill."

"They burnt people alive." Carol exclaimed.

Morgan nodded. "Yeah."

"They killed and attacked our people. Women, men, boys, girls. They  _killed_  people, Morgan. Why did you let them go?  _How_  could you let them go?" I asked, wondering how someone could let people like that just walk away.

Morgan looked from me, to my dad. "Why didn't you kill me, Rick, back in King County? Pulled a knife on you. I stabbed you. So why didn't you kill me? Was it 'cause I saved you after the hospital?"

"'Cause I knew who you were." dad answered.

"Back then I would have kill you as soon as I look at you." Morgan told him. "And I tried. But you, you let me live, and then I was there to help Aaron and Daryl." he nodded. "See, if I wasn't there... If they died-"

"Stop." I shook my head. I couldn't hear him say something like that. "You were there. You did help them." I got to my feet. "Daryl is alive!" my heart raced.

It had been awhile since I'd had a panic attack, I guess living in a world like this I just got used to things being so crap. But suddenly I felt my chest tighten as breathing became difficult. My body shook, everything felt tight and tense. I was on the verge...

Dad turned around, standing up, reaching for me. "Vickie. It's okay." he nodded. "You're right. Daryl's fine. You're fine." he grabbed my shoulders, holding me as he looked into my eyes. "It's okay. Breathe."

Nodding, feeling myself calm as he spoke, I breathed as best as I could. Daryl was the only thing that had me feel this way. The last time I'd had a panic attack was over him leaving to get Merle and Michonne. This time was about him not coming back home... He was my weakness.

Morgan went on. "Maybe those Wolves wouldn't have been able to come back here if I hadn't been there..." he shrugged. "I don't know what's right any more. 'Cause I did want to kill those men. I seen what they did, what they woulda keep doing." he sighed. "I knew I could end it." he shook his head. "But I also know that people can change. 'Cause everyone sitting here has." he looked to dad and me. "All life is precious. And that idea changed me. It brought me back and it keeps me living."

"I just don't think it can be that easy." Michonne noted.

"It's not easy." Morgan told her.

Michonne looked at him. "I wasn't saying it was."

"I know." he nodded. "And I've thought about letting that idea go. But I don't want to."

"You may have to." Michonne said. "Things aren't as simple as four words. I don't think they ever were."

"Do you think I don't belong here?" Morgan asked us, looking to each face.

"Making it now, do you really think you can do that without getting blood on your hands?" dad asked.

Morgan shook his head. "I don't know."

Everyone fell silent, with nothing left to say we all just stayed where we were, doing and saying nothing...

Sighing, Carol got to her feet and walked out. She was clearly pissed. I didn't really blame her. We'd killed the most amount of people the other day. Wolves, as Morgan called them.

Michonne wasn't far behind, leaving the room as well. She wasn't pissed, but I could tell she was in deep thought. Maybe Morgan's words had got her attention...

Dad turned to me. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Fine." I was, at least a little bit. I still felt like crap, and was worried about Daryl. That wasn't going to stop until he was back. But at least I wasn't on the verge of having a break down. "I'm fine."

Nodding he looked over at Morgan before turning back to me. "I've gotta go. But if you need me, you find me, okay?"

"Yeah." I offered a small smile.

He hesitated a moment longer before walking out, leaving me in the room with just Morgan.

I looked at the older man as he watched me. Neither of us moved or said anything at first. We just sat there, looking at each other, reading each other...

"I'm sorry I upset you." he started. "I didn't mean to."

I gave a short nod. "I know. It's okay."

Relaxing a little, he looked away his eyes falling on the window. I knew we were done here. There was nothing either of us wanted to say or hear right now. So, I just turned on my heels and left him there.

**RPOV**

"If we can somehow get outside the walls, get back to our cars at the quarry, we could use them to draw them away." I told Michonne as we stood on the porch, looking at the wall.

She nodded. "We'll set up more watch points. Coordinate the shooting of guns and flares so we could pull them out in even directions."

"We'd need to get all our people on it. Carl, Vickie, Tara, Rosita, Carol." I noted. I knew Maggie wasn't up to it. Vickie probably wasn't either, but she'd do it.

"What about everybody else?"

"Well, let's just keep this to our own for now." I shrugged.

"Really?"

"Look, if we had the time to bring the people along, sure. But we haven't had a chance to catch our breath."

"Really?" she repeated with a sigh. "We're in here together. We're catching out breath right now. Anything else is just excuses."

I nodded, looking behind her shoulder. "Deanna."

"Rick." Deanna walked up to us.

I gestured to the rolled-up paper in her hands. "What's that?"

"Plans for the expansion." she smiled- the first time in a while.

"We got a few other things on our plate right now." I told her.

"I know." she handed the paper to Michonne. "These are for what Alexandria can be after this. Because one way or another, there's gonna be an after this." she said before walking off and leaving us.

**VPOV**

I sat on the grass, leaning back, looking up at the sky, wishing it would rain. The clear blue above me was not helping my mood. The day just seemed to bright and cheerful compared to the empty pit of pain and sorrow I was feeling. As each second went by without the others coming back, I felt worse and worse.

Aly was lying next to me, her head in my lap as she stroked Houdini's back. I'd grabbed her from the house and brought her out, knowing we both needed to spend time together, and try to enjoy the day. But we were still too upset...

I watched as people moved, doing whatever it is they were doing. It didn't matter. I didn't care. I was just looking for something to distract me. Rosita was teaching a group of people how to fight. Dad was working on building up the reinforcements on the wall where the truck had hit. Maggie was up in a guard tower again. Carl was walking around.

"When Glenn comes home, do you think he'll play with me?" Aly looked up at me. "I miss him."

I shrugged, brushing some hair out of her face. "I don't know. I think Maggie will want to spend some time with him first. You know, just the two of them."

"Like you and Daryl?"

"Yeah." I gave a little smile. "Like me and Daryl."

"Do you think I'll ever love a boy like that?"

My heart squeezed. It was like the conversation I'd had with my mum when I was younger... "I'm sure you will, sweetie." I told her.

"Even now?"

"Even now." I nodded.

Shifting, she got to her feet. "I'm gonna go find Tara, 'kay? She told me she'd show me how to use her yoyo."

"Okay." I nodded, watching as she walked off, Houdini right behind her.

I knew she wasn't in the mood, but she was trying. She knew that things might not get better for a while, and so she was trying not to think about it. Even though she was still very young, I found her mind was growing up a lot faster. But with a world as harsh as this one, it was bound to happen.

**RPOV**

I had nothing better to do, so I'd started building up more reinforcements on the wall. Even though I was sure it would hold, I didn't want to risk it. Trying to put the screws in a piece of wood into the holes of the beams, I found I couldn't hold it and get the screws in.

A pair of hands grabbed the wood as Tobin helped me keep the wood in place. "Here. You looked like you could use some help." he nodded before helping me get the piece in place. "You know, I think we could build a brace on this thing." he said once it was in place before moving to the small pile of wood nearby.

After he cut another piece of wood, he brought it over, noticing a bullet hole in the wall, with blood leaking through it.

"Don't mean anything." I told him. "As long as we keep this up." I said, both of us getting back to work.

He sighed. "You know, you scared the hell out of people when we first saw you."

"I know." I nodded, hammering a nail into the wood.

"You scared the hell out of me with that beard, the way you looked around like you were seeing thing we weren't, hiding around the corners." he looked at me. "Turns out you were." he shrugged. "Things moved slow here. And then things just started moving fast. Too fast. But don't give up on us." he said before turning back to the task at hand.

**VPOV**

"Get back here!"

I sat up at the sound of my dad yelling. Looking over to where the sound came from I could see him up on one of the guard towers... where Spencer was currently pulling himself along a robe that went from the wall, to a building on the outside of the community.

I got to my feet in an instant, running over to the next guard tower. Once I reached the ladder I climbed up, joining Tara and Eugene. But by the time I was up, Spencer was then hanging from the rope...

"Go! Keep moving! Hurry!" dad told him.

Shaking my head, I pulled out my gun. "Idiot." I muttered to myself, speaking about Spencer.

"Eugene, have Maggie and Rosita fire their guns out from their posts." Tara told him as she pulled out her own gun.

"Why?" he asked.

Turning a little harshly, I snapped at him. "Just go!" in the urgency of the situation I didn't have time to worry about hurting his feelings. Things could go bad really fast right now, so I just needed him to do what he was told.

Eugene looked at me with wide, fearful eyes, before nodding and climbing down the ladder.

Tara had moved so she was on the other side of the wall, holding onto it's edge while her feet sat on one of the diagonal beams holding the wall up on the other side. Using her free hand, she aimed and shot at the walkers gathering by Spencer's feet. Lifting my own gun, I aimed at the walkers as well, shooting as many down as I could, while I stayed planted on the guard tower.

Suddenly, the rope snapped, causing Spencer to fall to the ground.

"Spencer, come on!" dad yelled.

Spencer grabbed a hold of the rope before he looked to dad and Tobin, who then began to pull him up. All the while Tara and I kept shooting. Though Tara only lasted a few seconds longer...

"I'm out!" Tara put her gun away.

Dropping my gun, I reached for her. "Okay, hold on." I said before I pulled her up and over.

Seeing that Spencer was still hanging, I felt like I had no other choice but to take action. What we were doing right now, wasn't enough. So, I swapped with Tara and climbed over the wall to stand where she had been, while she reloaded her gun with some ammo on the guard tower. Both of us then continued to shoot at the walkers, not giving up.

In all the chaos I hadn't even realised that Morgan had joined dad and Tobin, helping them pull Spencer up and over, back to safety.

"Vickie!" Michonne had climbed up and was with Tara now. She came over to the edge of the wall, offering me her hand.

With Spencer back over there was no reason for me to stay where I was, so I reached for her hand and went to move. But with all the awkward moving I hurt and my still healing side stretching and moving in awkward and uncomfortable ways, I felt a sharp still pulse through me. It was enough to have me flinch and move the wrong way, making my feet slip.

I screamed, looking down at the walkers as I hung, seeing them reaching for me, grabbing at my feet. I tried to kick them away so I could pull myself up, as Tara and Michonne hurried to help me.

"Vickie!" Tara yelled as both her and Michonne grabbed my hands and began to pull.

Looking up at my friends, I shook my head, my eyes desperate and scared. "Don't let go!"

Without saying a word, Tara and Michonne continued to work, their hands gripping mine just as desperately as I was gripping their's. Both woman used all their strength, pulling and holding me, until they finally got me up and over to safety. One I was over, I fell against the guard tower floor, rolling onto my back as I breathed heavily, trying to calm myself.

"Are you okay?" Michonne asked, kneeling by my side.

"Is she hurt?" Tara asked from behind her.

"Victoria! Tara!" dad called, causing us to look over at him as he still stood on the other guard tower with Tobin, Morgan and Spencer. "You both almost died once for these people."

"What?!" Tara asked, clearly pissed by his words.

"What the  _hell_ were you doing?" dad shouted.

Tara just flipped him off before turning to me. "Come on, let's get you to the infirmary."

With the help of Michonne, Tara managed to get me on my feet and on the ground with minor pain and without inflicting any more damage. But I was pretty sure it was too late. I was pretty sure I'd gone and hurt myself all over again.

**RPOV**

Once Tara, Michonne and Vickie turned away from us, I looked to Spencer.

"Lost a damn shoe." he sighed. "Crap."

I'd seen what had happened. I saw Vickie hanging there like walker bait. I'd frozen on the spot, watching as my daughter hung there, helpless, all because of this idiot. At that moment, I'd wished we'd left him on the ground for the walkers.

"What was that?!" I yelled. I was pissed, fuming, on the verge of rage.

"I was trying to help." he said as if it were that simple and obvious. "I wanted to get to a car, draw them away."

"You ever make a climb like that before?" when he shook his head I went on. "You want to help? Don't make us come running to save you. You got an idea, you come to me."

He just looked up at me. "Would you have listened to me?"

**VPOV**

With Tara's arm around my waist, just in case, she walked us into the infirmary.

The woman inside turned to us. "Tara, and... Victoria, right? You're Rick's daughter."

I nodded, offering a small smile. "Yeah, that's me."

"Denise, can you take a look at her?" Tara asked as she moved me to a bed. "There was a close call and she got hurt. We just wanna make sure everything's okay."

"Sure." Denise nodded, moving towards me. "So, what can I do?"

Sighing, I lifted my shirt and moved my bandages over so she could see my wound. "Everything okay, doc?"

She leaned forward to get a better look, her cold hands brushing my skin. "Well, it looks like it's almost completely healed on the outside. The stitches have gone. They usually are after a few days." she stepped back to look at me. "It looks like you've opened it up, but only a little. I can bandage it and give you some pills for the pain. But other than that, it looks fine."

 _Wow... not as bad as I thought..._ "Okay, do what you gotta." I shrugged, pulling my shirt off- knowing it would make the job easier.

Nodding she moved to grab some bandages before she got to work. As I watched her and looked around, I didn't miss the looks I got from both her and Tara... They were trying not to stare, but it was hard. I understood that it was hard. Seeing the state my body was in was a shock to most people. I mean, I might as well be a pincushion with all the injuries I get and scars I have. Though, I'd learnt not to be bothered by the marks on my body. They were apart of me now. Like birthmarks or whatever.

"Are you checking  _me_ out, or the scars?" I grinned to both women.

Tara cleared her throat, quickly looking way. "No, I wasn't-"

"It's okay. I don't mind." I assured her.

There was a small moment of silence before Denise looked up at me. "What happened to you?"

"I was accidentally shot here." I gestured to my first scar. "And I was attacked by a man who cut me all over. And I was shot here," I gestured to my arm, "and here." I point to my shoulder. "Then there was the other week." I shrugged, not needing to tell them what had happened then. Everyone knew what had happened.

Denise honestly looked so amazed... but there was slight pity there as well. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" I asked, confused.

"Keep fighting." she answered. "Aren't you scared?"

I gave a small smile. "I have reasons to live. My dad, and my brother and sister. My friends. Aly and Houdini. Daryl. Knowing people need me. Knowing I help them. Knowing they love and care about me, just like I care about them. It all keeps me going."

It was only a flicker, and very quick, but I still noticed how Denise looked over at Tara for a moment...

"Anyway, I better get going." I grinned, getting off the bed now that my wound was bandaged. "Aly might be looking for me."

"Okay, well, here." she moved to a cabinet and pulled out a small container of pills. "Take two every four to six hours for the next few days. Then come back, I'll take another look, and see where we go from there."

Nodding, I gave her a smile. "Thanks, Denise." turning for the door I stopped by Tara. "You too. Thanks for helping me and bringing me here."

She shrugged. "It's what we do, right?"

"Right." I nodded before walking out.

 

...

 

"Dad." I called, walking up to where he and Tobin were working on the wall again. He turned to me as I came to a stop. "Have you seen Aly?" I'd been walking around, trying to find Aly, but hadn't been able to find her. She wasn't at home, or next door, or at Jessie's, or with Maggie, or with Tara. I couldn't find her...

He shook his head. "No."

"Okay." I sighed before walking on. I didn't get very far though.

"Vickie." turning around I stayed where I was as dad came towards me. "Look, I'm sorry about before." he stopped in front of me. "I was just-"

I shrugged. "Spencer was stupid, that's obvious."

"I just meant, what you and Tara did for him, you didn't have to."

"I know." I told him simply.

"You could've died."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know and I get that. But, I mean, I wasn't really thinking about that at the time. He needed help, and I was there. It's that simple."

He shook his head. "We could have done it without you risking yourself. You know that. So why? Why'd you do it?"

"Because he's one of us." I answered as if that was obvious. "You see them and us, two separate groups. But we're here dad. Whether you like it or not, we're all together." I shrugged. "They're a part of our family too, now."

"Rick, Vickie." we bother turned as Deanna walked up to us. "You saved my son. Thank you."

Dad shook his head. "Thank Vickie and Tara."

She just smiled at him. "I already thanked Tara, now I'm thanking both of you."

"It was nothing." I told her. "Really, I would have done it for anyone."

She nodded. "I know."

"What Spencer did was stupid." dad noted.

Deanna nodded again. "I can't argue with that. At least he tried."

"That's not the point. I could have tried. There was a chance." dad said.

"How's that?"

Looking at her dad explained. "When the walkers were going for him, it made a gap. I could have jumped down, ran, made it out. I could have gotten a car, used it to lead the walkers away. I could have done that and Spencer would be dead."

"But you didn't do that." Deanna stepped closer to him. "Why?"

"I had to save him because he's your son." dad answered.

She shook her head. "Wrong answer."

Dad looked away, not responding to her.

I watched him, seeing him change as something in the sky caught his eye. Turning and looking up I watched as some green balloons drifted off. Green balloons like we'd used for the walker trail.

Maggie came running up to us, rushing as fast as she could before stopping by my side. "That's Glenn." she panted. "That's Glenn." she smiled.

I looked to her a smile of my own growing on my lips.

The sound of wood cracking had all of us looking over at the lookout tower that was by the wall where the truck had nearly gotten in. We all watched, jaws dropping as the wood creaked, snapped and broke before the tower gave way and came tumbling down, landing on the wall, pushing it to the ground, making an opening for all the walkers to get in.

**  
**

**Chapter 9**

**Blood and Guts**

**RPOV**

I'd grabbed Vickie when the wall had started to fall, getting us to the floor before covering her body with mine. I hadn't had time to really react, and all I knew was that I had to keep my daughter safe. Now that the wall was down, and walkers were coming in, we needed to move.

"Come on." I got to my feet, grabbing her arms. "Let's go!" she got to her feet as fast as she could, both of us pulling out our guns before we ran off, moving closer to the others. "Everyone, get back!" I yelled at them.

"Get in your houses!" Vickie told them. "Get back! Go!"

Not having any time to waste we both turned and began shooting the walkers as they got closer.

"Vickie." I looked to her for a moment before going back to shooting. "You have to go."

"No. I'm not leaving you out here. You can't do this on your own." she told me as she shot some walkers down. "I'm staying, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Rick!" Deanna rushed towards us.

"You need to get back." I warned her.

" _We_  need to get back!" she corrected, holding her own gun and firing at walkers as she followed me.

I kept moving, trying to find somewhere safe for Vickie and myself as we kept shooting at the walkers. We needed to get up high t get a better look at everything and see what we can do to fix this.

"Look out!" Deanna yelled.

I turned just in time to see her grab a hold of a walker that had been reaching for me before she shot it in the head. But another walker had grabbed her and pulled her down on to some construction tools at the same time.

"Deanna!" Vickie rushed over, moving to help the woman as I killed the walker that had grabbed Deanna. "Are you okay?"

"We need to get to safety!" I noted as I covered them.

Once Vickie had Deanna on her feet I moved to help her keep the woman up before we made a break for it.

**MPOV**

I wasn't sure where everyone else had gone. All I knew was that I had to get myself to safety before the walkers got me. Running I moved for the guard tower, shooting at the walkers that got to close, but making sure I kept moving. They were right on my heels and if I made one wrong move, they'd have me. Reaching the ladder I started to climb up.

But the walkers grabbed my feet, pulling and tugging on me. I tried to kick them away. I tried to break free. I tried to loosen their grip. But with every struggle, with every move I made, the ladder began to move more and more. Then, just like that, the rope broke.

Acting quickly I grabbed a hold of the guard tower and let the ladder fall. It was enough to get the walkers to finally let go, so I could pull myself up to safety. It was as struggle, and I'd dangled there for a moment. But eventually I pulled myself up.

Laying there on the guard tower floor I looked up at the sky, seeing the green balloons still drifting off.

**VPOV**

Dad was helping Deanna stay on her feet while I stood in front of them, gun raised, killing the walkers that got in our way, making a path.

"Rick, Vickie." we looked over, seeing Michonne- who had called- with Carl, Ron and Gabriel run towards us.

"Good, you're safe." dad nodded. "Come on!"

Michonne stood on one side of me while Carl stood on the other, the three of us clearing a way through the walkers that were gathering around us quickly. Ron and Gabriel were in the back and I could only hope they were keeping the walkers clear there too.

Suddenly more walkers rounded a corner, coming straight for us.

We all stopped, circling dad and Deanna, facing the walkers. We had no idea where to go. We didn't have enough bullets or strength to fight this many walkers off, and we were running out of options fast.

A gun shot went off, and then another, and another until the walkers in front of us began to drop, revealing Jessie.

"Come on, I have Judith!" she called to us.

Moving quickly we all headed towards her house, knowing the dead weren't too far behind.

 

...

 

I helped dad take Deanna into a spare room, upstairs in Jessie's house. Once she was placed on a bed I moved, rushing out of the room and down the hall where I found Judith in a cot. Grabbing my sister- who was wailing and crying- I began to rock her, trying to calm her.

"Come on." I kissed her forehead. "Shh. It's okay. Shh." when Jessie rushed into the room to close the blinds, I stopped her. "Where's Aly? Do you know? Did you see her?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm sorry." she answered before rushing off.

My already aching heart began to crack as I moved to the window and looked down, wondering where my daughter could be, and hoping she was safe.

**RPOV**

I ran upstairs and into the room we'd put Deanna in. Michonne was kneeling on the floor, trying to fix up the wounds Deanna got from falling onto the tools earlier. This weren't looking to good for her.

"How is she?" I asked.

"No offence to Michonne, but whatever she's doing hurts like a son of a bitch." Deanna noted.

"I just finished with the leg." Michonne answered. "And that seems to be the worst of-" she stopped herself as she lifted Deanna's shirt.

She was bit.

Deanna looked at the wound before leaning back and looking up at me. "Well... Shit."

 

...

 

"Fever's setting in. She doesn't have long. She knows how it happens, right? All of it?" I noted, standing with Jessie in her bedroom. Vickie was here as well, holding Judith, keeping her sister calm, listening as I told them about Deanna.

Jessie nodded. "Yeah, she knows."

I chuckled bitterly. "She's cracking jokes."

Jessie reached forward, cupping my cheek. "Rick... She wouldn't have run." she assured me, her hand falling.

Vickie cleared her throat. "Look, we have food and water. It'll last us awhile at least." she shifted Judith on her hip. "The walkers won't stay outside forever. They'll move off to one area."

I nodded. "When they do, I'll try and get to the armoury. Draw them away."

"With guns?" Jessie asked.

"Flares." I told her. "I'll open the gate, fire them off. See if I can get them somewhere. Somewhere that's not here."

"By yourself?" Jessie didn't sound too sure.

"No." Vickie shook her head. "I'll go with him."

**CPOV**

I watched as Ron walked out into the garage. Wondering what he could be doing, I followed quietly and carefully. Opening the door I peaked inside. "Ron?" he was leaning against a work bench. "Hey." I stepped inside, closing the door. "You all right, man?"

After a moment or two, he spoke. "Enid's dead. We're all dead."

"Look, my dad's gonna figure something out. He always does." I tired to reassure him.

"That's bullshit." he turned to me. "You're dad's just gonna get more people killed. 'Cause that's what he does." a tear ran down his face. "That's who he is. Your dad's a killer."

"So was yours." I shook my head. "We need to work this out."

"I'm dead, Carl. My mom is dead. My brother is."

"No. They're not." I told him as he pushed past me. "We're gonna make it."

"Your dad, your sister." He sighed, locking the door. "You're dead, too." he pulled the key out of the door and tucked it into his jeans pocket before reaching for his gun. "We're all dead."

I moved fast, running up to him, shoving him against the door.

He fought against me, pushing me away, dropping the gun as he did. I fell back, knocking a metal shelf over as I fell to the floor, Ron right there beside me. He grabbed the shovel next to him, and got to his feet and I got up and tried to get away. I needed a weapon. I needed something so I could defend myself. I was not letting this idiot kill me.

Standing in front of the door leading outside, I looked over, seeing him swinging the shovel at me. Ducking I got out of the way, which meant the shovel hit and smashed the glass of the door.

**VPOV**

I put Judith in the cot before rushing downstairs, right behind dad and Jessie. They would have heard the glass breaking as well, and the sound of my brother and Ron fighting.

Dad tried to open the garage door, but found it locked. "Carl!"

"Ron!" Jessie yelled. "Ron, open this door right now!"

"Carl!" I hit my hand against the door. "Carl, open the door!" when the fight inside only seemed to continue, I grabbed dad's shoulder. "Break it down."

I didn't care about the noise. I didn't care about damaging Jessie's house. I only wanted to make sure my brother was okay. He was my main priority at that moment.

Nodding, dad pulled Jessie away. "Back up!" he warned as he pulled his axe out before bringing it down on the lock of the door. Over and over he hit it, not giving up. Finally, he managed to break the lock of and pull the door open.

Carl was trying to hold a shelf against the door leading outside, where walkers we trying to push into the garage. Ron was standing in the middle of the garage, a dazed look in his eyes.

"Carl! Come on!" I yelled.

He let the shelf go and made a run for us, Ron just in front of him. The walkers broke through the other door and began piling into to garage then.

Dad and I slammed the door shut once the boys were in. Jessie, Carl, Ron and myself pressed against the door while dad and Gabriel- who had now joined us- grabbed the couch and turned it on its side.

"Watch out." Jessie told us. We all got out of the way right on time as dad and Gabriel pressed the couch against the door.

"We need more." dad noted as we tried to keep the couch in place. "And we need to be quiet."

Michonne- who'd just come down- nodded. "I'll see what I can find."

"Me too." Gabriel added before the two headed off in different directions.

Carl and I helped dad, holding the couch. Jessie squeezed in as well, the four of us struggling to keep the dead in and the alive safe.

"Hey, what happened in there?" dad asked Carl.

"We were looking for the tools and knocked over a shelf." Carl answered.

"We heard yelling." I noted.

"Yeah, Ron saw them break through the gates." Carl nodded. "We had to move. That's what happened."

Ron stepped forward then. "Carl, there's nightstands in my mum's room. We can brace the couch with them."

Jessie grabbed her son's shoulder. "Hey, it sounded like you were fighting."

"Yeah, we were fighting them." Ron told her before walking off.

"Carl? It's okay?" dad asked, needing to make sure.

Carl nodded. "It's okay." he answered before moving to follow Ron.

Dad gave me a look once my brother was gone. I knew exactly what he was saying with just that simple look.

"You go this?" I asked.

"Yeah." he nodded. "Go."

With no need to be asked twice I left dad and Jessie to hold the couch before I walked off, following my brother and Ron.

**CPOV**

Following Ron into his mum's room, I closed the door behind me before pulling out my gun.

"Listen, I-"

Cutting him off, I aimed my gun at him. "Hand me the gun, grip first."

He turned to look at me and froze. "Carl, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I know. Now give me the gun." I told him, watching his every move as he slowly did as I said. "Look, man, I get it." I tucked his gun into the back of my pants. "My dad killed your dad, but you need to know something. Your dad was an asshole."

The bedroom door opened. Vickie stood there, looking at Ron with her head tilted to the side slightly. "You wanna tell me what the hell's going on?" she asked, looking from him, to me.

I shook my head. "It's fine. I've dealt with it."

When it came to Vickie, there was no point in lying. She saw through me like glass. I'd known the instant I lied to dad, she knew the truth. She didn't know what happened, but she knew I lied. She'd always been able to tell when I lied.

Nodding, stepped into the room and closed the door, looking at Ron. "I'm not an idiot. I know you did something stupid that nearly got my brother killed. Now we're all in danger." she walked up to him slowly. "If Carl says it's fine, then it's fine." she stopped barely a step away from Ron. "But if you try to do anything that might harm  _anyone_  again, I will end you." she didn't even blink as she looked down at the kid who was only an inch or two shorter than her. But at that moment, he might as well have been an ant.

He was shaking, terrified as he looked up at her, clearly understanding how serious she was.

"If it comes down to you, or the people I care about, you'll lose. I will end you faster than you can say 'sorry', or whatever crap might come out of your mouth. I won't even flinch. You know why? Because you made a big mistake, getting on my bad side." she told him before turning on her heels and waling out.

**VPOV**

I'd meant what I said to Ron. I'd put two and two together and come to the conclusion that he'd tried to hurt-possibly kill- Carl. Hearing my brother ask for a gun confirmed as much. So when I told the kid I'd end him, I meant it.

Walking into the living room I found Michonne and Gabriel standing by the windows, looking out.

"They knocked the sculpture over." Jessie noted.

Michonne sighed. "All this noise, it's drawing more."

Judith began to cry then.

Dad nodded. "I'll get her."

"No." I grabbed his arm. "You should stay down here. I'll get her." I told him before moving towards and up the stairs.

As I walked down the hall, I looked into the room we'd put Deanna in, just to see f she was okay or needed anything. But she wasn't on the bed. She was gone. Pulling my knife out, taking a deep breath, I moved further down the hall, moving to the room Judith was in. If Deanna had turned I wasn't going to let her get my sister. Opening the door I found Deanna leaning over the cot, reaching in to grab Judith.

Pushing the door open more I rushed in, ready to attack.

"No, it's still me!" Deanna turned.

I let out a shaking breath, stepping back. "Oh, my God!" I shook my head. "I nearly killed you." reaching forward I placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

She nodded. "I wanted to see her one last time." she explained. "I thought I could make it. My legs had other plans."

Smiling lightly I moved forward, helping her to her feet before walking to the bed where I placed her down as gently as I could.

As I pulled back, she grabbed my hand. "What is it going to take to get you to see."

"See what?" I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. I wondered if she knew what she was saying, or were the ramblings starting like they had with Jim?

"You can lead these people, Victoria. You and Maggie. You'll make a strong team. I know you will. You'll protect, care for and teach everyone." she squeezed my hand as best as she could. "What will make you see that?"

My eyes fell to her hand as I shrugged. "I don't know." sighing I looked over at Judith. "You can't be alone, Deanna. And you can't be with Judith."

She nodded. "I know."

Getting up I looked down at her for a moment longer. "I'll find somewhere to put Judith and see if someone can watch you." turning I went to move to my sister.

But Deanna grabbed my hand again. "Vickie, wait." reaching into her pocket she pulled out three folded pieces of paper. "I wrote something for Spencer, for Maggie, and for you. Don't read it until the time is right. Until all this is settled. Promise me." she asked, handing the papers over.

Taking them I nodded. "I promise."

"Will you look out for Spencer for me?"

"I will. We all will."

"We you look out for him like you look out for your people?"

I gave her a small, sad smile. "He is one of my people."

She nodded. "That's it. That's what I wanted Rick to say. Because its true. They're all his people now. They're all your people. We're in this together. We're family now."

"I know." I reassured her, grabbing her hand. "I think I've known that for awhile."

She smiled, leaning back. "I was right." she nodded. "You're gonna be one hell of a leader."

Wiping at a tear I let go of her hand, tucking the papers into the pocket in my jeans.

"Vickie!"

My head spun towards the door at the sound of my dad calling for me. Without a second to lose I grabbed Judith and made a run for it. After putting Judy in the other room I then rushed down stairs to help the others.

They were all in the living room trying to push a table against the front window as the walkers continued to try and push in. I threw myself against the barricade, using all my strength to help.

"Theres just too many of them." Gabriel noted.

The front door was pushed open then, walkers filing into the house.

"We gotta move!" I told everyone as I moved away from the window.

"Everybody get upstairs, now!" Michonne yelled, sword out and ready.

We all made a run for the stairs, Jessie, Ron, Carl and Gabriel in front while dad, Michonne and I kept the walkers back to protect the others.

"The couch!" dad called. "Let's block the stairs." he said as he grabbed the piece of furniture.

I was right there with him, pulling it along as we moved towards the stairs and the others, Michonne already there. Once the couch was in place and we were sure the walkers wouldn't be able to get through for at least a while, dad and I stepped back to assess our options.

I sighed, seeing only one way out. "Dad. Remember how you guys found me at the prison?" I asked, turning to him.

He understood in an instant. "You get the one on the right, I got the one on the left."

 

...

 

Dad dumped the second walker on the ground next to the first. "Where gonna need bed sheets." he ordered. "Enough for everyone."

"Bed sheets for what?" Jessie asked understandably confused.

I knelt by one of the walkers, pulling my knife out as I looked up at the others. "The only way out is through the crowd of walkers. The only way we can all do that safely is by... Covering ourselves with walkers guts." I shook my head. "I know. This is scary and gross, but trust me. I've done this before. A lot."

Dad nodded. "It'll mask our smell, make them think we're like them." he looked up at Jessie and Ron as they watched us. "I've done it, too. We just gotta stay calm, and don't draw attention. We'll move right through them."

"They're in the house." Michonne noted. "They're making noise. More are coming."

With nothing else to say I stabbed into the stomach of the walker in front of me, cutting it open.

Dad looked up at the others as they watched us. "Anyone who stays here is gonna die."

"What about Deanna?" Gabriel asked, holding the bed sheets.

Dad, Michonne and I shared a look. We knew what had to be done. We couldn't take her, not with how she was... so we had to leave her.

"I'll go talk to her." Michonne offered, leaving us.

Once she was gone I turned to Gabriel. "Use a knife and cut holes in those sheets for our heads, like ponchos." I told him before turning back to the dead walker I was gutting.

**CPOV**

"We need to move." dad looked up at Jessie. "You, then me."

Jessie stepped forward, leaning by one of the dead walkers. "I'll do it."

Vickie stood up, hand full of walker guts. Reaching forward she spread it on to the sheet I wore, covering every spot. "You don't make a noise, okay." she told me, putting more guts on. "You stay quiet and you don't make any sudden movements."

I nodded. "I know, you've told me already."

"I'm just making sure you know." she told me, kneeling back down by the other walker. I watched her, seeing her clearly distressed about more than just the situation at hand. She was worried, more worried than usual.

"Hey." I rest a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She laughed bitterly, shaking her head. "I'm worried about Aly. I was looking for her when the wall fell. I have no idea where she is. I don't know if she's hurt." she brushed some hair out of her face, getting blood on her skin. "If I lose her,  _and_  Daryl..."

I knelt down next to her. "Hey, don't. They're okay. They both are. Daryl's almost as tough as you, and Aly's got the two of you bringing her up. They'll both be fine." I wasn't just saying it, I believed it.

She must have seen that, because she relaxed a little then. "I better keep moving. Got myself to cover, yet." she noted before turning to the walker.

**VPOV**

Now that we were all covered there was nothing keeping us from leaving. Michonne had explained everything to Deanna, Deanna understood, and all of us were ready.

"We have to go." Michonne told us as she looked down at the walkers downstairs.

"We're ready." Jessie nodded, hands on Sam's shoulders. "Ron?"

"Yeah." was all Ron said, as he looked down at the ground.

With that dad moved forward. "I'll get Judith."

Gabriel grabbed his arm. "Rick. I'm not gonna give up out there. I will not turn back, no matter what happens."

Dad looked at the priest for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I know." he said, and then moved to go get Judith.

We all waited in silence, standing there, ready to go, listening to the sound of the walkers below us. They'd calmed a little, but there were still moving around, making noise, that would inevitably draw more.

"Vickie."

I turned to dad as he stepped up to me, offering me a machete. I nodded, slipping it into my belt. Then he offered me Judith. Nodding I lifted the bed sheet I wore with the help of Jessie. I took my sister and held her to my chest as dad and Jessie draping the sheet over her. With that, we all set off, following dad, staying right behind him. We started for the stairs, moving down. When dad moved the couch out of the way and stepped onto the first floor, a walker moved up to him, sniffing and smelling, before turning away.

It was working.

I wasn't surprised, I was just thankful. It meant we had a better chance of actually getting out of here so we could help everyone else.

When we stood on the front porch we stopped, taking in the sight before us. There were just so many walkers, and such a long walk. Nodding slowly dad grabbed my arm that held Judith as Carl grabbed my other. We all formed a chain holding hands as we started forward.

**  
**

**Chapter 10**

**First Contact**

**DPOV**

"Daryl." Sasha nudged me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I see."

After we heard someone asking for help over the walkie, I'd set my sights on home more than before. We'd all hoped things would have blown over and everything would have sorted itself out by now. But my gut was telling me things were worse than before.

Now, driving along the road, heading home, we caught sight of a group of guys who were stopped in the middle of the road on some motorbikes.

"What in the holy shit." Abraham shifted in his seat.

I had no choice but to come to a stop as we neared them, seeing as they had guns and were clearly the kind of guys not afraid to use them.

The guy standing at the front of the group spoke. "Why don't you come on out, join us in the road?" when we didn't move, he shrugged. "You know, if you wanna resist, try something... I mean, it's a choice, I guess. But we will end your asses. Split you right in two, straight through to the sinuses. So come on."

Having no real choice, I turned to engine on. All three of us got out without a word, watching the men who were watching us as we moved to stand in front of the truck.

The leader nodded. "Yeah, that's great. It's going well right out of the gate. Now, step two. Hand over your weapons."

"Why should we?" I asked, feeling the need to at least try to kill these assholes. But I knew better.

"Well, they're not yours." the leader shrugged.

"What?" Abraham asked.

The leader stepped forward. "See, your weapons, your truck, the fuel in your truck, if you got mints in your glove compartment, if you got porn underneath the seat, change in the seats, hell, the seats themselves, the floor mats, your maps, the little stash of emergency napkins you got there in the console... None of those things are yours anymore."

Sasha spoke up. "Whose are they?"

The leader looked to her. "Your property now belongs to Negan." he looked to each of us. "Now if you can get your hands on a tanker, you're people our person wants to know. So let's get those sidearms, shall we?" he walked up to me. "Right now." pulling it out from the back of my pants I handed my gun over. "Thank you." he smiled before moving on to Sasha. She handed hers over and he thanked her as well before stepping up to Abraham.

Abraham didn't move. He just looked down at the man in front of him, unflinching. It was clear, he wasn't handing anything over.

The leader sighed. "If you have to east shit, best not to nibble. Bite, chew, swallow, repeat. It goes quicker." he nodded, waiting. Sure enough, Abraham handed him his gun. With that, the guy moved back to his bike.

"Who are you people?" Sasha asked, wanting answers as much as Abraham and myself.

"I get the curiosity, but we have questions ourselves." the leader started. "And we'll be the ones asking them while we drive you back to wherever it is you call home. Take a gander at where you hang your hats." he smiled. "First, though, your shit. What have you got for us?"

"Yeah, you just took it." I tried for a lie.

But he wasn't buying it. "Come on, I mean, can we not? Okay? There's more. There is always more." he sighed and turned to one of his men. "T." he gestured to me as the guy stood. "Take my man to the back of the truck. Start inside the back bumper, work your way to the front." he ordered as he sat on his bike.

T stepped up to me, shoving me towards the back of the truck. I didn't bother struggling. Instead I let him take me to the back, ready to do what was necessary.

Once we were around the back and out of sight from the others, I moved quickly. The guy had stepped in front of me to look inside the bunker, putting his back to me. Once I was sure he was as distracted as possible, I jumped forward.

Getting him in a headlock and bring him to his knees, I squeezed as hard as I could, blocking his air way.

He struggled, and I felt something dig into my back. But I wasn't giving in. After the crap I'd gone through I was not letting these pricks keep me from getting home.

Slowly and eventually they began to get weaker before he was nothing, dead.

Reaching into the back of the bunker I pulled out an RPG- which Abraham had found in the town while they'd been waiting for me. Setting it up I didn't waste a second before getting into place and shooting.

Boom!

The guys on their bikes blew up, flames, and body parts flying into the air, destroying everything they were.

Nodding, I lowered the weapon, moving around to Sasha and Abraham as they got to their feet- the explosion must have pushed them to the ground. "Son of a bitch was tougher than he looked." I told them before we moved to the back of the truck where I'd left the guy I'd killed.

Sasha shook her head. "Did he cut you?"

"A little." I shrugged. "What a bunch of assholes."

Sasha pressed a rag to my cut, laughing lightly. "Let's get you fixed up at home."

"Yes, ma`am." I nodded, getting into the truck, having never heard a better idea.

**VPOV**

Dad lead us to a few bushes where the walkers wouldn't be so close to us. Turning he spoke to the group, keeping his voice low. "All right, new plan. Flares from a few guns aren't enough. Too many walkers, too spread out. We're not going to the armoury. We need our vehicles back at the quarry. All of us drive. We'll need to round 'em up. We leave, we come back."

"Okay." Jessie answered before anyone else could say anything. "But Judith, to the quarry and back, I..." she shook her head.

Dad turned to me as I held my sister against my chest under the bed sheet I wore. She was right. With a baby, things could go wrong and it would be more difficult...

"I'll take her." Gabriel offered. "Keep her safe in my church until you all lead the walkers away."

"Can you do this?" Michonne asked him. We all knew what he was like, and there was no way I was handing my baby sister over if he was just going to get her killed.

"I'm supposed to." he answered her. "I have to." turning to my dad, he added, "I will."

After a second or two das looked to me and nodded. "All right."

I was a little reluctant, but still moved to stand next to the priest. Handing my sister over to him, our back facing the walkers so they couldn't see, I looked Gabriel in the eyes. He was determined. He was a changed man. That was enough to give me confidence in him.

"If you find Aly-"

He cut me off. "I will bring her to my church, and I will protect her." he assured me.

Nodding I stepped away now that he had my sister. "Thank you."

Before Gabriel could more, Jessie stopped him. "Take Sam."

Sam shook his head. "No."

Jessie turned to her youngest son. "Yes, Sam, it'll be safer."

But he wasn't listening. "I'm not leaving you."

"Sam..."

"Mum, I'm not." he wouldn't budge. "I can keep going."

Jessie wasn't too sure though. "Sam."

"I can keep going." he insisted. "Please. Let's just go."

Jessie looked to the rest of us as she thought it over for a moment before turning back to him. "Okay."

With that decided, Gabriel turned to dad. "I'm going to keep her safe."

"Thank you." dad nodded.

Gabriel offered a small smile and turned to me for a moment, his eyes letting me know I could trust him and that if he could he'd help Aly. Then he turned away and started off, walking through the walker crowd with my baby sister in his arms.

"Hey." Jessie grabbed dad's hand, seeing him watching Gabriel with worry in his eyes. "He's gonna make it, okay? I know it."

Watching her dad slowly nodded, hoping she was right, before he turned to her youngest. "Sam." he offered his hand.

Sam grabbed dad's hand and one by one we all formed a chain. Dad, Sam, Jessie, Carl, Ron, myself and Michonne.

 

...

 

We were still walking. Still moving through the gathering walkers. They just seemed to be never ending, causing our journey to slow and drag on. It was already dark, I had no idea how long we'd been out here. But I was determined to keep moving, to do what was needed in order to help the whole community.

I'm not really sure what happened, or why it did, but out of nowhere, Sam stopped in his tracks, freezing on the spot.

Jessie immediately turned to him. "Sam." she kept her voice low. "Come on. Come on. Sweetheart? Sam?" he shook his head at her. "Yes, you can." she insisted.

"You can do it." dad encouraged him.

"Sam." Jessie pulled his arm gently. "Sam, come on."

"Come on, Sam. You can do this." I nodded at the little boy.

But it was clear he was frozen in fear. His eyes began to well up as he looked dead ahead at walkers. He began to cry, shaking his head, slowly backing away from the rest of us.

"Hey, you can do this." his brother tried. "Sam, just look at mom."

"Honey, you can do it. Sam, you're gonna..." Jessie was beginning to panic. This was not good. "Sam, honey, I need you to come with me."

Sam whimpered. "I want to."

"I need you to be strong." Jessie told him.

It happened so fast. None of us had the time to react. One moment we were trying to get the boy to move, and the next... a walker grabbed him. The walker bit into his shoulder, making the boy scream and cry out, which only had more moving towards us.

Jessie stopped there watching her son, still holding him as she cried for him. Ron couldn't move, he just stood there in shock.

"Jessie?" Carl tugged on her arm.

Dad moved closer to her. "Jessie?"

We didn't have time for this. The walkers could see us now. They knew something was up and they were headed this way. But Jessie wouldn't move, her hand still firmly gripping Carl's.

"Jessie." I looked at her pleadingly. "Jessie, you have to come with us."

"Come on, we have to go." Carl told her softly but urgently.

But it was too late. The walkers had heard her cries and screams and had come. They grabbed her, biting into her skin as she stood there in complete and total shock.

Jessie's screams filled my ears.

My eyes went wide as I watched. Ron was holding my hand, unable to move, unable to respond. He was as frozen as Sam had been. His skin paled and her body shook as he could do nothing but watch his family get torn apart.

"Dad." Carl's voice pulled my attention to him. "Dad."

He was struggling against Jessie's grip which was still holding on to his wrist. Even as she screamed and the walkers ate her alive, she hadn't let go of my brother.

Dad didn't move at first. He was still processing everything. He was in shock like all of us, only he and Ron were worse of- dad and Jessie had been close after all. Knowing he had no other choice, he lifted his axe, bringing it down on to Jessie's arm. Swinging and hitting it until he severed the limb, freeing Carl.

I went to move to help Carl, who had fallen on to the ground, but froze at the sight before me.

Ron had moved quickly, picking up the gun Carl had dropped when he fell. Now the boy stood with the gun in his hands, aimed right at my dad.

"You." his face twisted in to anger and hatred. "You."

There was no time, my family was in danger. I had to do something.

Pulling out the machete dad had handed me back before we left Jessie's house, I moved as fast as I could, stepping up to Ron and shoving the blade through his back and out of his chest.

The gun went off, but he'd moved his aim away from my dad. I'd saved him.

Taking a step to the side and pulling the machete out of him, I let Ron fall to the floor, watching as he died right in front of me.

Looking up I turned to my dad, who gave me a nod as the walkers moved to Ron, kneeling by him, sinking their teeth into him. I moved away, letting them do what they wanted, making sure they didn't notice me.

"Dad?"

I looked over at my brother and felt everything I'd had left in me, everything I'd been using to keep going, everything that helped me believe that maybe Daryl and Aly were okay... it all fell apart, because my family was my strength, and my family was hurt.

Carl, he'd been shot, right in the face. I'd stabbed Ron and caused him to pull the trigger. The bullet had hit Carl, in the eye. He was bleeding, the red trickling down his face, as he looked to our dad for a single moment before he fell to the ground.

Carl...

Dad gasped, choking on a sob. "Carl."

He moved quickly, rushing to Carl and pulling him up into his arms. As much as I felt as if there was nothing left in me to keep going, I knew I had no choice, not if I wanted Carl to survive.

So, I stood next to Michonne as we ran ahead of dad, only by a few steps, clearing the walkers and making a path as we headed straight for the infirmary. Nothing else mattered. Only Carl, and getting him the help he needed.

 

...

 

The door to the infirmary opened right as I stepped on to the porch. Dad and Michonne were closer to the door as I kept the walkers back, protecting the ones I loved. It's all I had left. It was everything I was at that moment.

"Vickie!" Denise yelled.

Looking over my shoulder I saw her holding the door open, Michonne having just ran inside. Kicking a walker away from me I then turned and made a run for it, rushing into the safety of the building, pushing the door closed behind me with a slam.

"This is a gunshot?" Denise asked as she moved to Carl where dad had placed him on a bed.

"Headshot." Michonne told her. "Close range."

Rushing over I came to stand on the other side of Carl, grabbing my brother's hand. "Can you help him? Can you save him?"

"Please." dad stepped back, watching as Denise tended to Carl. "Please save him."

Everything became a blur as Denise moved to do what she had to in order to try and save Carl. I did whatever I could to stay out of her way as I stood there, holding my brother's hand, feeling myself shake as I sobbed, watching him, praying he'll survive.

I could hear nothing. I could see nothing. I could feel nothing. All my senses were focused on my baby brother. Everything around me faded away as I refused to let go, as I refused to take my eyes off him.

Carl was my brother. He was my baby brother. I'd vowed from the moment our parents brought him back from the hospital as a little baby, that I'd protect and care for him. I had promised I'd do everything in my power to keep him safe.

 _Come on, Carl_. I cried, leaning closer to him, pressing my lips to his knuckles.  _Come on._

"Rick!"

Shaking my head, I was brought back to reality as Denise called my dad's name.

Looking over I watched as he walked out the front door, axe in hand. He had that look on his face, the same one he'd had when mum died. The same look he'd had when he'd gone into the prison tombs and killed all the walkers.

"Rick's out there!" Michonne told Denise as she helped the doctor.

"Hold on." Denise stayed calm, still working on Carl.

"He needs my help."

"Just one more suture." Denise told her.

Michonne was panicking. "But he's out there."

"This is his son." Denise looked up at her for a second. "Give me a second."

My heart was racing. My head was spinning. Everything was going out of control. I had no idea where Daryl was. I had no idea if Aly was okay. I had no idea if Carl was going to make it. Now my dad was out, taking on all the walkers.

Letting go of Carl's hand I moved to the door, lifting the machete I'd dropped there when I walked in. Ignoring everyone as they tried to call me back, I opened the door and walked out. If I was going to lose everyone I loved, then I was going to fight until I lost myself.

 

...

 

I stood next to dad, thankful that he was alive. Neither of us looked to each other, though he knew I was there. We just turned to the crowd of walkers moving towards us and lifted our weapons killing anything that got too close to us.

With every strike and every swing, I put in as much energy as I could. Using my anger and fear and worry and heartache, I killed as many of the walkers as I could.

Knowing Carl could die. Knowing Aly could be dead. Knowing Daryl could be gone. Knowing dad could be next. It was too much for me to bear. The pain and loss was too much in such a brief time. I felt like there was nothing else I could do.

A part of me I'd buried deep inside began to surface as I yelled and grunted, breathing heavily, killing walkers left, right and centre. An animal I'd become during my time apart from the others, for those eight, long months, reared its head up, showing itself, urging me on. It gave me more strength, it gave me more power. It was like my instincts turned predatory and wild.

I would survive through this, the animal inside me would make sure of it. Nothing had killed me yet, and nothing would now. I'd survive... but I'd be changed.

Losing Aly. Losing Carl. Losing Daryl. Losing anyone else. My soul, my being, everything I ever was would scar like the rest of me.

Turning to a walker that was getting too close, I raised my machete to kill it. But before I could a sward sliced through the dead thing, killing it in an instant.

Michonne stood there for a second, looking at me, telling me she was here, before she moved to fight.

Aaron, Heath and Spencer had come out as well. The six of us all gathering a circle, getting into formation, fighting together as a team.

"Knock 'em away!" dad told us. "Drive 'em down!"

More people came out of their homes. Olivia from the pantry. Aaron's partner Eric. Others as well. They all moved to join us in the fight.

"We can beat 'em!" dad yelled. "We can beat 'em!"

Seeing these people who had been so scared, so fragile like children... seeing them come out of their homes and fight, for their community, for the others, for themselves. It was incredible. The sight alone was almost enough to numb the pain still growing inside.

I'd still be a changed person. Only knowing my loved ones were safe and sound would keep that from happening. But knowing I was with a group of people like this would at least help me keep moving.

I nodded. "We can do this together!"

**MPOV**

I don't know how long I'd been up in the guard tower. I didn't know where everyone else was. I had no idea what I was supposed to do now. What I did know was that it was dark, the walkers were still gathered below me, and the tower was losing stability. Any moment now, it was going to fall apart.

"Hey!" gunshots went off. "Over here!"

I looked down and felt my heart swell. "Glenn!"

"Come on, here!" he yelled, shooting walkers, drawing them to him. "Over here!"

The walkers got closer and closer to him as he backed up, moving to the wall. They were surrounding him. He was in danger.

"Glenn!" I cried out for him. "Glenn!"

But he continued to shoot and shout. "Over here! Come on!"

"Maggie!"

I looked over, seeing Enid climbing up the wall. "Enid!"

She made her way over to me carefully as Glenn kept shooting and shouting and drawing the walker to him.

I help Enid on to the tower before turning back to Glenn. He looked up at us then, seeing that Enid was with me, seeing the walkers move away from us and towards him.

"Just go! Just get over!" he told us.

"No!" I pulled my gun out, not leaving him like that. Not when I just got him back.

"Go!" he yelled, getting further away. "Come on!"

Aiming my gun, I went to shoot a walker close to him. But as I pulled the trigger I found I was out of bullets. "Shit." I cried. "No, Glenn!" using the gun and hit it on the tower's floor, trying to make noise to get the walker's attention. "Over here!" but it did nothing. They kept going to Glenn. "Glenn!" I screamed. "Glenn!"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the walkers started to fall as they were shot down. Glenn ducked and covered, but there was no need, he was safe, no walker or bullet touched him.

I looked over, seeing Sasha and Abraham standing on a truck by the gate, each holding an automatic gun, shooting the walkers down.

When Glenn was safe, Abraham lowered his weapon. "Can you get the gate?" he nodded. "Appreciate it, pal." he laughed before going back to shooting.

**DPOV**

Sasha and Abraham were helping Maggie and Enid off the guard tower while Glenn rushed over to the other side of the truck as I sat in the driver's seat, ready to roll when everyone else was ready.

"What the hell happened?" I asked as soon as he was inside.

He shook his head. "I don't know. I just got back."

"You didn't see Vic?"

"I haven't seen anyone." he admitted. "Listen, we can... We can lead some of them away, but they're scattered."

I shook my head. I wasn't going anywhere. "No, we get 'em all together. Won't have to lead 'em away." I told him before hitting my fist on the roof, telling the others to move.

**VPOV**

More and more people had come, but more and more walkers had gathered. We were fighting through them though. We were winning. As long as we kept this up, as long as we continued to fight as a team, we would all get through this. I knew we could.

Carol, Morgan, Tara, Eugene and Rosita had come. Gabriel and Tobin. Man, and woman. Young and old. It didn't matter. Everyone knew that the only way out of this mess, was to clean it up ourselves.

There were plenty of people still hiding. I knew that. We all knew that. But it didn't matter. If someone couldn't fight, if they were scared or weak or inexperienced, then the best thing for them to do is to stay out of the way. We had this.

**DPOV**

Abraham, Sasha, Glenn, Maggie, Enid and myself were in the truck. I was backing it up towards the pond sitting in the community, an idea in mind. Once it was in place I got out, the others doing the same as they moved to kill any walkers that got close while I got to work.

Moving to the back of the truck I grabbed the fuel hose, pointing it at the water and opening the valve, letting the liquid gush out. While I waited I opened the back of the truck and pulled out the RPGs, climbing the ladder on the side of the truck to put the rocket launcher on the roof.

Once back on the ground I turned the valve of and looked to the others. "A'right. Let's go!"

They all climbed back into the truck, while I moved back on to the roof. Holding on I waited as Abraham drove away from the water just enough so we were safe.

"A'right." I hit the roof. "That's it!"

Once he stopped I got to my feet, raising the rocket launcher, aiming it at the water, and letting the weapon go off.

The fuel floating above the water burst into flames. Even from where I stood I could feel the heat as the fire spread over the surface of the pond.

Just like that the walkers turned to the bright flames, and began to walk this way, heading straight into the water, straight into the fire, straight to their deaths.

**VPOV**

I don't know how, or who, but someone, somehow, had set something on fire. The flames were bright, and big and drawing walkers in that direction.

"Don't let up!" dad ordered us, once his attention turned back to the walkers that were still headed this way.

Still in formation, all of us continued to fight. We continued to push through the walkers and kill them. all of them. We weren't going to stop. We weren't going to give in. This was it. This was the moment this place, these people, all of us, didn't just become a group. No. Now, we were family. All of us. Everyone here.

Stepping up to the last walker I lifted my machete and brought it down on to the walker. The blade cut through the soft skull, spraying blood all over me, killing the monster.

Tugging the blade out I stepped back, feeling strong, feeling powerful, feeling alive.

**DPOV**

Sasha, Maggie, Enid, Glenn, Abraham and myself headed for the infirmary. We left the truck by the water and ran, finding walker bodies lying all over the place, dead. People must have been fighting before we got here.

A crowd was gathered outside the infirmary. Carol, Rosita, Morgan, Gabriel, Eugene, Spencer, Heather, Eric, Aaron, Olivia and others. They were all covered in blood and sweat. Looking at each of them I could see their faces, see the worry in their eyes.

Pushing away from the others I rushed to the front door, throwing it open and stepping inside. I looked to the doctor who had jumped when I'd rushed in.

"Where is she? Where's Vic?"

There was noise coming from the room to the side, and then there was her.

She was covered in blood, more than most of the others. She was covered in sweat and dirt. She looked wild, almost like when we'd found her at the prison.

Stopping in the door way she looked up at me, her body relaxing slightly. "Daryl."

We both moved at the same time, meeting each other half way.

Grabbing her, I wrapped my arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground, burying my face into her neck. Feeling her, smelling her, knowing she was safe... I felt my worry wash away.

"I thought I'd lost you." she cried against me, her arms around my neck, holding me tight. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Vickie."

**VPOV**

"Vickie."

Pulling back from Daryl I turned to the door and felt my already swelling heart grow even bigger.

Standing there, in the door way, was Michonne, with Judith in her arms and Aly by her side.

I burst into tears as Daryl let me go. Falling to my knees I opened my arms. "Aly."

She ran up to me, throwing her arms around my neck as mine wrapped around her body, holding her close to me. She cried against my shoulder, and I cried against hers.

I was feeling a mixture of emotions. Happiness, joy and relief that both Aly and Daryl were back. Worry, stress and sadness at the thought of Carl- who Denise had fixed up- wouldn't wake. And pride, because of what we'd all done together, to save our home.

...

I'd been standing with Daryl and Aly by one fo the infirmary beds when the door opened, Maggie and Glenn walking in. At the sight of my two best friends I stepped away from Daryl and Aly.

My smile grew even bigger as I pulled both Glenn and Maggie into my arms, crying happy tears as the three of us held each other. It reminded me of the time we'd found each other again after Terminus.

My heart swelled as I held my two best friends to me. The thought of losing Daryl, Carl and Aly before had hurt like hell. But the idea of possibly losing these two would be just as bad. I loved them like I'd known them my whole life. They were my family. The others, I cared about, there was no doubt about that. But there were a select few of our group that would always hold a piece of my heart each.

I pulled back, looking at Glenn, wiping away my tears. "Don't you ever scare me like that again. You hear me?"

He chuckled lightly, nodding. "I hear you."

Maggie laughed a little as well as the three of us hugged each other again.

**DPOV**

As Denise- the doctor- fixed up my cuts I found my attention only on Vic. Aly had gone outside with the others once she found out someone had brought Houdini over- her face had lit up once she knew the dog was safe. Vic had checked on Maggie and Glenn and a few others. But when she knew they were okay, she'd turned to me.

Standing in between my legs, hand holding mine, leaning against me slightly, she kept her eyes locked on me. My free hand rested on her hip, the tip of my fingers brushing some of her skin. My eyes roamed her body, taking in every detail.

"All done." Denise handed me my shirt. "If it doesn't heal properly, just come back and I'll take a look."

Vic nodded, keeping her gaze on me. "I'll keep an eye on it." she told the doctor.

With that, Denise walked off, leaving us alone.

Reluctantly I let go of Vic's hand so I could put my shirt on. My arm and back hurt which made the task difficult, but she was right there to help the moment she saw me flinch slightly.

Once my shirt was back on, I grabbed her hand again. "Wanna go home?"

I could see she was about to say yes, but stopped herself before she could. "Carl got shot..."

"What?" I sat up straight, ready for anything. Carl was her brother, and he was family. If he was hurt...

"It's a long story." she sighed. "He's in the other room... I was with him and dad, waiting to see if he wakes up..."

She didn't need to say anything else. I understood. "I'll take Aly home. You stay here."

"Thank you." giving a small smile, she stepped forward, pressing her lips to mine in a soft and sweet kiss.

I wanted more. I wanted everything. After the last two days, we'd been through I wasn't sure I'd be giving her up once I had her to myself. We were staying in bed for a week after this.

But she needed to be with her family, so when she pulled back, I let her.

"I love you." she whispered against my lips.

"I love you, too."

**RPOV**

I sat on a chair next to Carl's bed, holding his hand, looking down at my son. Vickie sat on his other side, holding his other hand.

"I was wrong." I started. "I thought after living behind these walls for so long that maybe they couldn't learn. But today, I saw what they could do, what  _we_  could do, if we work together." I nodded. "We'll rebuild the walls. We'll expand the walls. There will be more. There's gotta be more. Everything Deanna was talking about... It's possible. It's all possible. I see that now."

I leaned forward more. "When I was out there with them, when it was over, when I knew we had this place again, I had this feeling. It took me a while to remember what it was." I began to cry. "Because I haven't felt it since I woke up in that hospital bed." I reached over with my free hand, resting it on Vickie's. "I want to show you the new world. I want to make it a reality for you." I cried. "Please, Carl. Let me show you."

It was slight, but it happened.

Carl's hand. The hand Vickie was holding. The hand mine was resting on. It twitched as he slowly and gently curled his fingers, touching both myself and Vickie.

"That's it, Carl." Vickie cried, smiling at her brother. "We're here."

I nodded. "We're all here."

**  
**

**Chapter 11**

**A Little Bit of Normal**

**VPOV**

The week had been nonstop work. Everyone had been busy, all hands-on deck. We'd managed to build the walls up again and start the expansion around the church. We'd built a few more guard towers, started clearing a spot for crops, and cleared all the walker bodies out. Everything was going well. Everyone had settled and things were moving on.

Tara and Denise made their relationship official, the two now living at the infirmary. Rosita and Abraham were sharing an apartment with Eugene. Gabriel lived closer to the church. Maggie, Glenn, Sasha and Carol lived in the house next door. It was just dad, Carl, Judith, Michonne, Daryl, Aly and myself in our house now.

Carl had been doing well. He was up and moving about, adjusting to the fact he was missing an eye. Dad had opened up to the community and finally admitted that we were all family now.

After everything that had happened, I'd realized Deanna was right. Every morning I found myself looking at her letter, wanting to read it, but stopping myself. I knew she was right, but I wasn't ready to let go just yet. I wasn't ready to admit it completely.

"Mummy!" Aly came running down the stairs. "Are we going yet?"

I smiled as I finished packing a lunch. "Yes, we're going."

She beamed up at me, moving to pet Houdini and grab her lunch from me before she moved to the front door.

Grabbing Judith out of her high chair I lifted myself sister in to my arms before putting her in the stroller. Once she was secure, I headed to the front door, following Aly.

**DPOV**

I was helping out with the fence. The faster we got the expansion done the better. Although as much as I knew hands were needed to help get the job done, I found myself wanting nothing more than to be curled up in bed with Vic.

The first couple of days after everything had happened we hadn't left the house. We'd barely left the room. Those were the best two days of my life. Spending time with Aly and Vic- especially Vic- it had made everything easier.

But we knew people needed us, so we'd gotten back to working and helping once the little holiday was over.

"Daryl." I looked up at Tobin, seeing him gesture behind me. "You've got visitors."

Turning around I saw what he was talking about. Vic and Aly were headed our way, with Judith in the stroller and Houdini running circles around a giggling Aly.

Aly bounced back pretty quickly. Even after she found out about her friend, Sam, she still seemed able to move on from everything pretty well. Don't get me wrong, she was still scared, and woke up most nights from nightmares. But she was doing good considering.

Dropping my shovel, I headed over to them, my speed picking up when Vic smiled at me.

The moment I reached them I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her flush against me, pressing my lips to hers. She grinned against me, her arms wrapping around my neck as she kissed me back.

With me working on the fence, I'd been gettin gup before Vic most mornings. She tried to wake up with me, but most of the time I just snuck out, letting her rest. So on the days she came down like this, bringing me lunch, it was nice to be able to hold her.

"Daryl." Aly pulled on my shirt. "Mummy made you a peanut butter sandwich. You have an apple too." she told me.

Smiling down at her I let Vic go before taking the paper bag from the little girl. "Thanks."

Her face beamed. "You're welcome."

Turning back to Vic, I let my hand slip into hers. "You busy today?"

"Ah, yeah... I'm watching Judith, Carl and Aly all day, and then I'm heading over to Maggie's tonight... Girls night." she reminded me.

I nodded. "Girls night."

"Mum says we're gonna have so much fun. She told me we're gonna listen to music and dance and eat cookies. Carol said she's making lemonade, too." Aly was so excited.

The whole girl's night idea had come from Tara. Vic had told me how a bunch of the women around town were going to meet up. It was so they could bound, but also so the people that were at Alexandria before us got to hear about some of the things the rest of us had been through. Kind of like stories around a camp fire, only it was more girly than that.

"Don't worry." Vic smiled, stepping closer. "Aly will be staying with Tara and Denise tonight. And I'll be home before it gets too late. So, we can spend as much time together as you'd like."

"Hmm." I still didn't like it. I wanted Vic home, with me. Sharing was never a talent of mine.

She chuckled lightly before pressing her lips to mine quickly and then pulled away. "Why don't you get back to work, and I get these three back home?" she gestured to the two girls and the dog. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah." I leaned forward, kissing her one last time. Pulling back, I looked to Aly. "Be good."

"Yep." she smiled before skipping off, giggling as Houdini followed her.

I watched as Vic walked away as well. Seeing her with Aly and Judith, it had me thinking...

**VPOV**

"Carl." I called, standing in the kitchen. "Lunch." pushing his plate over I set it next to Aly's.

Turning to Judith I smiled at my sister as she sat in her high chair, eating the apple sauce and biscuits I'd given her. When others were busy, I took care of the kids. It was nice, spending time with them like this. I knew I'd eventually have to work again- probably once Carl was better- so I was making the most of this while I could.

Carl came down the stairs. "Where?" he asked, coming to a stop at the bench.

"There." I gestured to his plate. "Can you take Aly's into the living room too, please."

"Sure." he nodded, grabbing both plates and moving off.

The front door opened, dad and Michonne walking in. The two were busy talking, though I didn't pay any attention to it. Since the walkers had gotten in a week ago and then we'd worked to fix everything, dad and Michonne had started working with Maggie, figuring out and working on the next step for the community.

"Lunch?" I asked.

"Yeah." dad moved to grab a bottle of water. "That okay?"

Moving to the fridge, I pulled out two paper bags. "Already done."

"Thanks." Michonne smiled at me, taking one bag before looking in. "Jam?"

I nodded. "Olivia has some people making things with the fruit growing in the forest."

Dad filled his bottle with water. "Anything's better than peanut butter. We've had that for the past four days straight. I didn't like it before. Don't like it now." he grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "You get what you're given, and you eat it. Don't complain."

"You sound like a mum." Carl called from the living room.

"She is a mum." Aly gave a short nod.

I frowned... was I acting like a mum? I mean, with Aly, yeah I did, because I was her mum. But was I acting that way towards everyone? I had started taking care of people more than I had before. With Carol living next door and being busy I'd taking up most of the house work... I cooked, cleaned, baby sat...  _Was I becoming a motherly house wife_?

This will not do.

 

...

 

Sitting on the edge of my bed, ready to head over to Maggie's to help her get ready for tonight, I looked down at the piece of paper in my hands... Deanna's letter.

When I woke up this morning it had been like any other morning. I had been determined not to read whatever was on this note. I wasn't ready to face the truth. But after realizing I'd become a sort of mother to everyone I got scared. I didn't want to be the mum. I wanted something more than just doing the laundry and making lunches.

Taking a deep breath, I made up my mind, unfolding the paper, reading the words writing in front of me.

_Victoria,_

_When you first walked through the gates and I first saw you, standing strong and confident next to Daryl, holding Aly's hand protectively, I knew in an instant that you were the future._

_I had never seen a woman such as yourself in all my years. You walked into this community with a confidence not many people possess. Holding your head high and walking with determination. You were an image of example. Inspiring and strong. A role model for women and men alike._

_But I could see more than that. I could see the kind softness inside you. I could see it in the way you held Aly's hand. The way you cared for your group... Your family._

_There's something I never told you... Aiden told me about you. Before you came here, years ago, he'd mentioned a girl. It wasn't odd, he'd always talked to me about everything. He'd told me how I'd like her, how she was smart and caring and beautiful._

_When he realized you'd come to Alexandria he'd reminded me of the girl he met years ago. The smart, caring, beautiful girl. He told me I could trust you and anyone who stood by your side._

_You've adapted to the world in away the rest of us haven't. You're stronger, faster. You know more about living now than most of us. You care for the ones you love and you protect them no matter what. You make decisions and you teach lessons._

_You are a leader Victoria, and the people need you to realize this. They need you now more than ever._

_Deanna_.

**MPOV**

Vickie and Aly had come over a little earlier and helped me set everything up. Now the other were showing up, Carol, Michonne, Tara, Denise, Rosita, Sasha, Olivia and more. Glenn was on guard duty for the evening, which meant us girl had the house to ourselves.

"Hey." I smiled at Vickie, taking a seat next to her on the couch.

She'd been keeping the distance, just watching everyone else, not really participating. It was odd, really. Since the moment I met Vickie she'd been a friendly and welcoming person. It's one of the reasons why we became friends so quickly, and had such a strong bond.

"Hey." she smiled back, though it didn't reach her eyes.

I frowned slightly. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." she nodded, lying. "Why wouldn't it be?"

I sighed. "Vickie, you know you can talk to me."

She sat there, watching as Aly played with Rosita and Tara. The little girl giggled as our friends laughed, the three playing snaps with a deck of cards.

Finally, she spoke. "I read Deanna's letter."

After everything had happened with the wall and the walkers and Carl, Vickie had sought Spencer and me out. She'd handed us a letter each, telling us they were from Deanna.

I'd felt bad about the fact she'd seen so much death while I'd been stuck on the guard tower. We all knew about Deanna, Sam, Jessie and Ron. Everyone had heard what had happened. Knowing that Vickie went through that and there was nothing I could do to help her, hurt. I hated not being able to help her, because she'd always been there for me.

When I had a moment on my own, I'd read the letter from Deanna. It had told me to simply keep going, to not give up, to do my best to keep her dream alive. But she'd also asked me to try and get Vickie to join me. Now that Deanna was gone and I was left to lead- though Rick had stepped up to help- I felt like I needed Vickie. It would be nice to have her on my side.

"What did it say?" I asked carefully.

"A lot, actually. Well, to me, at least. But the main message was that she wants me to lead. I guess that's not really a surprise to you, hey?"

I shook my head. "No." offering a smile, I grabbed her hand. "I believe in you, too. I always have. And I need you. Taking care of this place isn't as easy as it looks."

She laughed lightly. "Yeah, I know."

We fell silent as I watched her. She'd turned away from the others, setting her gaze on her hands, deep in thought.

"Okay. I'll do it."

My eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Yeah." shrugging, she turned to me, grinning. "You seem surprised."

"I am." I admitted. "I didn't think it would happen so fast."

"Well." she sighed. "You're gonna be popping out a baby soon. Dad can't lead everyone on his own- he still scares some of them. And there's no one else who will or can do it. So I kinda feel like I have no choice." she quickly went on before I could say anything. "But I want to, as well. I do."

A smile crept on to my face. Grabbing her shoulder, I pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her in a tight hug. "Thank you."

**VPOV**

"So, Victoria." Barbra turned to me. "How'd you and Daryl meet?"

"I actually haven't heard the story either." Tara noted.

We'd been talking away, all of us telling stories about things we'd been through and done since the world had fallen apart. Now, everyone's eyes were on me as they waited expectantly, giving me no choice but to answer.

"I stole his knife." I shrugged.

"Really?" Olivia sounded disappointed. "That's all you're giving us? Come on."

Maggie grinned, nudging my arm with her elbow. "Go on, tell them." she'd heard the story before.

Actually, Maggie and Carol were the only ones who knew. Even Michonne had no idea about our history.

Sighing I told them. "I'd been on my own for a couple of months. Glenn found me. It was pure coincidence, really. He took me back to his camp, where it turns out my family was. Dad had been missing too, and he found us on the same day. So we were all happy, and relieved. But..." I paused for a moment before going on. "Dad had been found by some of the camp's people while they were in Atlanta. Daryl's brother was one of them.

"He'd been difficult, so dad handcuffed him to the roof. One of the others had the key, and lost it. So when they had no choice but to get out of there before the walkers got them, they left Daryl's brother. They locked the door so he was safe from the dead, but he was still in danger." looking to each of them I could see all of the women engrossed in the story. "Anyway, the day after we all got back to camp, Daryl showed up.

"He'd been hunting for everyone while his brother was gone. When he found out what happened, he got so angry. He tried to attack my dad. Another one of the campers got him in a choke hold while I took his knife, as dad tried to explain why he did what he did. Daryl didn't care though. He was pissed. His brother was the only person he had left." I shifted slightly. "My dad offered to go back. I volunteered as well.

"But my parents wouldn't let me. So dad, Daryl, Glenn and one of our other friends left us at the camp. While they were gone the camp got ambushed by walkers. We lost nearly half our people. We lost a lot of people." I looked away, falling silent.

"Then what happened?" Denise asked, all of them sitting on the edge of their seats.

A small smile crept on my face. "The guys came back. I was on the back of Daryl's pick up. He rushed over, climbed up and shot all the walkers that got too close." I looked up at them. "He saved me."

None of them said anything for a minute or two. They just sat there, watching me. The story had clearly drawn all of them in.

"Wow." Anna leaned back in her chair.

"Yeah." Rosita nodded. "You can say that again."

"So..." Tara hesitated before going on. "When did you figure out you liked each other?"

I looked down at the ground, thinking of the night my feeling for Daryl became concrete. "We were at the CDC. I was attacked by my ex, who I'd known for years... Daryl saved me. He stayed with me all night, keeping me safe."

"Wow." Anna repeated, shaking her head.

Francine frowned. "You don't seem like the kind of person that needs saving." she noted.

Nodding I looked to her. "I'm not most of the time...  _Now_. But back then, I was pretty weak and useless."

"So, what made you change?" Barbra asked.

"Daryl helped, and being on the road. Dealing with walkers on a daily basis changes people." I answered. "But it was the eight months on my own that really changed me."

"You were out there, on your own, for eight months?" Olivia was completely shocked. "How'd you survive?"

I shrugged. "Like I said, I changed."

**DPOV**

I walked up the steps of the porch, moving towards the front door. I could hear the women inside, laughing and chatting away. It had almost made me turn around and leave.

But it was already dark, I was ready to head off to bed, and there was no way I was doing that without Vic.

Raising my hand, I knocked on the door twice.

"I got it!" someone called from inside. After a moment the door opened, revealing Tara. "Daryl." she smiled. "What's up?"

"Uh..." I shifted on the spot slightly. "Vic here?"

"Yeah, I'll just get her." she offered before turning and yelling over her shoulder. "Vickie! Daryl's here!"

There was the sound of feet rushing along the floor and women giggling before Vic flew around the corner, a huge grin on her face as she looked up at me. Then, for some unknown reason, the others gathered a few steps behind her, watching us like they were waiting for something.

Trying to ignore them, I looked down at Vic. "You ready to go?"

She gave a sharp nod. "Yep." she grabbed my hand but stopped before we could leave, turning to Tara. "You sure you're okay with Aly?"

Tara nodded. "It's okay. Denise and I are gonna head off soon anyway."

"Okay, cool. Bye Aly!" Vic waved to the little girl as she stood with the others before she turned to me. "Let's get out of here."

I didn't have to be told twice. With her hand in mine we headed off.

**VPOV**

I walked out of the bathroom, feeling clean and refreshed after my shower and brushing my teeth. Wearing the thin, light purple, cotton night dress, I felt free and relaxed. Walking into the bedroom, using my towel to dry my hair, I headed over to Daryl as he sat on the daybed by the window, looking out.

"Hey." I smiled. "You okay?"

"Yeah." he nodded. "How was your night?"

"Great. We all really bonded. Everyone got to hear some stories, found out how it's been for everyone else." I stopped in front of him. "I even learnt a few things about the people here."

"They learn anythin' about you?"

My smile turned into a grin, knowing he was wondering if I'd told them anything about us. "Yes." I answered honestly. "These people look to me, Daryl. I told them about how I was before. Hopefully it'll help them see that they can change too."

He turned to look at me. "You tell 'em about us?"

"Yes." I gave a short nod. "They asked, I answered."

"Mm." he lifted his thumb to his mouth, chewing on the nail as he fell silent.

Sighing I stepped closer, so I stood between his legs. "Daryl, there's nothing bad I can tell them. And I'd never tell them anything personal. They just wanted to know how we met and got together."

Slowly, he lowered his hand from his mouth. "That it?"

"That's it."

"Good." he relaxed a little, turning to look out the window again.

Smiling, I placed my towel next to him giving up on drying my hair. "Now can we please go to bed? I would like to get as much snuggle time with you as possible before you leave for work at a ridiculous time tomorrow morning." turning, I went to move towards the bed.

"I heard about Maggie." he said out of nowhere, stopping me in my tracks.

I frowned, looking at him again, only now confused. "You heard what? That she's pregnant?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Glenn told me."

"I would have, but it wasn't really my place to." I explained.

"I get it." he assured me. "That ain't what I'm trying to say."

My frown came back as I continued to be confused. "Then what are you trying to say?"

"Would you do it?" he looked up at me.

"Have a baby?" I shrugged. "I mean, I don't know. I've thought about it, but the time just never seemed right."

Daryl and I had used some kind of contraception whenever we could. When we came across condoms, or birth control pills, things like that, we'd use them. The times we didn't have things like that were usually when we were on the road. With stress and poor health there'd been a very low chance of me falling pregnant. With attacks and fighting, there was a low chance of me keeping any baby we might have had.

We'd never really talked about not using protection. We'd never talked about trying to get pregnant... Though I guess we were about to.

"Now's a good a time as any."

I took a small step back, looking down at Daryl with even more confusion than before. "Are you telling me you want a baby?"

He gave a short nod. "Never loved anyone like I love you, and I wanna make somethin' out of that." he was a little nervous, I could tell. "Never had a good dad growin' up, don't know if I'd be any good-"

I cut him off. "You're a dad to Aly. You're an amazing dad. Especially considering the circumstances."

"With Maggie and Glenn havin' a baby, it got me thinkin' about us. Aly, she's ours, but she ain't. You're good with Lil' Asskicker, too."

I smiled at the nickname he'd given my sister when she was born. No one had called her that for a while now. But it was nice to hear.

Tilting my head, watching him carefully, I sighed. "Are you sure about this? You know the risk. Not just to me, but to the baby."

Reaching forward he rested a hand on my stomach, looking up at me. "I'm sure."

I stood there, looking down at him, taking in his words. Taking everything into consideration I thought about Aly, dad, Carl, Judith, everyone. Now that I was stepping up to lead, I'd be busy. Once I'd have the baby people would have to care for it sometimes... It wouldn't just affect us, it would affect the whole community...

But then I thought about what Daryl said about loving me. I'd never loved anyone as much as I loved him. I guess that's what had me nod my head.

"Okay." I smiled. "Let's have a baby."

His hands grabbed my waist and pulled me on to his lap before he pressed his lips to mine in a deep, heated and passionate kiss. In a matter of moments, I could feel him grow hard against me, causing me to moan.

Pulling back, breathing heavily, I looked down at him. "What are you doing?"

"Gettin' started." he answered before his hand gripped my hair and pushed my face against his in a hungrier kiss.

He used his other hand to move my legs so I straddled his waist before he got to his feet, holding me in place, walking us to the bed. His tongue danced with mine in a frenzy of need as my body vibrated with a desperate ache that only he could cure.

The air left my lungs as he dropped me on the bed. I bounced on the mattress for a moment, watching as he started to strip himself, his hungry eyes never leaving my body. My body shivered with anticipation, getting into action as I reached forward to help him strip.

Once he was completely naked, his member standing hard and at attention, Daryl knelt on the bed, his hands finding their way under my night dress. I lifted my body of the bed enough so he could pull my underwear down my legs, his lips leaving kisses and nibbles on my skin as his face followed his hands.

Having no more patience I sat up and pulled the last of my clothing off, tossing it across the room as Daryl crawled his way so he knelt in between my legs.

My eyes rolled and my back arched as he pressed himself against my core. "Oh, Daryl." I moaned, grabbing on to his shoulders.

Needing no more encouragement he pushed into me with a hard and deep thrust.

I was completely lost to the world. I was nothing, just a play thing for Daryl to use as he wished. The way he made me feel, physically and emotionally, had me melt away, leaving me with nothing but a need for him.

His thrusts were hard, they always were. His tempo changed, sometimes slow, sometimes fast. Either way he always knew what my body wanted. It was like he could read me like a book.

Daryl kept working himself in and out as he watched me, keeping his back straight, knowing the fact he was out of reach from my lips was killing me in a way that made everything feel even better.

Grasping my thigh, he pulled my leg higher and closer to him as he pushed himself in as deep as he would go. With each thrust my insides curled more and more.

"Daryl..." I was so close to the edge, but there was something I needed. "Daryl..."

Hearing my name on his lips, he let out a growl. Grabbing my side, he pulled me up, keeping himself in me as he pressed my body to his. With him kneeling on the bed, and me sitting on his lap, he managed to get himself deeper.

I groaned, my arms wrapping around his neck, my chest rubbing against his. Hands still holding me, he slipped them down to cup my cheeks, lifting me up and pulling me down harder. In this position, without sweat covered bodies sliding against each other, my sensitive button rubbed against him.

When I orgasmed, it was incredible as always. Everything in me buzzed. My mind emptied. My skin vibrated. My insides curled and rippled. Nothing ever made me feel as good as this. Nothing and no one could do what Daryl could.

He didn't slow down as I rode out the orgasm. In fact, he sped up, attaching his lips to my neck as he sucked on the skin until I felt him explode inside me with an animal groan.

Staying inside me, he thrust a few more times, emptying himself deep in my core, holding me close to his chest so I couldn't move.

When he was done and we'd both calmed a little, he pulled back, letting me fall against the pillows, still out of breath and slightly dazed. He joined me, falling on to the other side of the bed, both of us staring up at the ceiling.

Even though we'd stayed home for a few days after everything that had happened with the wall and walkers and Carl, we'd only actually had sex once during that whole time. I'd gotten back from the infirmary, and we hadn't been able to stop ourselves.

That had been different. We'd both been sore, and he was scared about opening my wound. So we'd moved slowly and carefully.

But I found I preferred it like this. When Daryl was a little rough. When it was hard and fast. It felt better that way.

A grin crept up on my lips. "A girl could get used to this."

"Good." his arm slipped under me before he pulled me to his chest. "We want a baby, we're gonna need to do this every mornin' and night."

I laughed, looking up at him, only to see that he was serious. "Oh..."

"Get some sleep." he grinned. "You're gonna need it."

I could already feel my body buzz with excitement. "I love you."

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I love you, too."

**  
**

**Chapter 12**

**Sorghum**

**VPOV**

The sound of a click had me shake myself awake. Opening my eyes, I groaned and hid my face in the pillow. "Daryl!"

He chuckled, leaning closer to press a kiss to my shoulder. "Come on, one more."

Sighing I looked over at him again, watching as he took another photo of me with the polaroid camera in his hands. The photo came out and he grabbed it, shaking it until an image appeared.

"Mm." he looked from the picture to me and then back. "Perfect."

"Let me see?"

Doing as I asked he turned the picture around to show me the image.

It was a nice picture considering I was actually naked. But I was still covered, so you couldn't see anything. The sheet lay on my back, leaving half of my back and my shoulders and arms bare. My hair was a mess, but after the wakeup call he'd given me earlier, I expected as much. I had a lazy smile on my face, and a look in my eyes as I'd been staring at Daryl. I wondered if that's what I always looked like when looking at him.

"You know, I got that camera for Aly. Not for you." I noted.

He shrugged, lying back down. "She's got enough film to last her years. A few photos won't hurt."

We'd found the camera on a run, and since then had picked up film for it whenever we found some. Aly had gone crazy, taking photos of everyone. She had a shoe box full of photos.

But every now and then I borrowed it, like last night. I'd been on patrol with Glenn and Maggie so I thought it would be nice to have some photos of the three of us together. Whenever I came across someone else I'd stop and take a photo with them as well. After everything we'd been through, having the opportunity to freeze a memory like that seemed important to me.

I rolled over, resting my hand on Daryl's bare chest and my chin on my hand. "Can we just stay home today? After the workout you gave me earlier, I'm not really sure I can move or not." I grinned.

He scoffed, shaking his head. "You know we can't."

During the two months that had passed since the walls fell a lot had changed. Not just the fact that everyone had finally settled into Alexandria, or the fact Carl had lost his eye. No, there was a lot more.

First of all, I'd decided to take up the role as a leader, beside Maggie and dad. So far, we'd been focusing on getting back on our feet, and working on the expansion by the church. Speaking of which, the new walls were up, adding the new building, and the old walls were almost down.

Secondly, because of the amount of people we had and our dwindling resources dad, Daryl and myself had started to set off and leave the community in search of supplies. We'd only started a few weeks ago but we went ever day- and usually didn't get home until dark. Though we hadn't actually found much of anything yet.

Thirdly, Daryl and I had decided to try for a baby. Maggie's pregnancy was kind of inspiration I guess, just pushing us over the line. So for the past month and three weeks or so we'd been having sex as much as possible. I mean every morning, every night and any alone time we got in between. Even though nothing had happened yet, we were determined.

I'd actually found that since we'd started trying to get me pregnant, and Daryl had specifically told me that he wanted a child with me, I hadn't been able to keep my hands off him. Even during the day I just had to touch him whenever I could. Not just sexually, but even holding hands, or leaning on him. I just couldn't get enough of  _him._  I'd also noticed he couldn't get enough of me, always reaching out to wrap an arm around me, keeping me close.

Let's be honest none of that really seems odd. We'd always been drawn to each other, and felt the need to stay close. But there was a difference between before and now. There was both an intensity and fluffy-ness to it now. It was both sweet and spicy I guess.

So when Maggie and I agreed that someone had to go out and look for supplies, and dad and Daryl volunteered, Daryl made it perfectly clear that I was to go with them. I hadn't argued or hesitated. I'd simply gone with them from the first day.

Maggie had been worried at first. With dad and myself away she wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep the place in check on her own. But after the first day she'd quickly figured out that she'd be fine, and if there ever was a problem, she had plenty of help. I'd also reassured her that if I was needed, then I'd stay. But until then, I left with the guys.

Daryl looked over at the digital clock on his night stand. "Gotta get up. Get ready." he noted, staying where he was.

"Can't we just stay in bed for five more minutes?" I pouted.

Shaking his head, he gave me a tap on the shoulder, telling me to move. "Got things to do. You know that."

Sighing I rolled back over on to my side of the bed, laying there on my back, facing the roof. "My legs don't want to move. You turned them to jelly."

"Tell you what," he sat up, looking down at me. "You stay here, I'll get everythin' ready."

My grin returned. "You'd do that for me?"

"Do anythin' for you." he told me matter-of-factly as he bent down to give me a sweet kiss that lasted a second of two longer than he'd probably planned. Before things got hot again, he pulled back and got off the bed. "Don' be too long. A'right?"

Nodding I turned to look up at the roof again, unable to watch him get dressed without wanting to strip him naked. "Half an hour tops. Promise."

After a moment he finished getting ready and moved to stand beside my side of the bed. "A'right. Half an hour." he repeated my words, bent down to give me another kiss, and then turned for the door. "I'll be countin'." he called before leaving.

A smile crept on to my lips as I rolled over on to his side of the bed, burying my face into his pillow, inhaling the smell of him.

**RPOV**

Music played on the radio as I slipped my belt on before reaching for my watch. My eyes landed on Judith as she played on the ground with some red plastic cups and a ball, smiling up at me.

"Do you have any toothpaste left?" Michonne asked, walking around the corner to stand in my door way, dressed in a robe with her hair in a towel.

I shook my head. "No, 'cause someone's been borrowing it every day for two weeks." I grinned at her.

"Carl!" she called.

He was in his room, bouncing a ball. "What? Denise says this is PT."

"I can't hear you." I lied, wanting him to come out to talk to us. "Come on out."

Sure enough, he walked out, coming to stand beside Michonne. "What? Denise says this is PT." I said with him. He grinned. "You heard me."

"Yeah." I gave a short nod.

Michonne chuckled lightly before turning to him. "It's time to change your bandage. And I need to borrow some toothpaste."

"Okay, but I'm out of toothpaste." he shrugged before throwing me his ball. "Bye, dad." he called, walking off.

"I'll see you later." I called back.

It had been a couple of months since the wall fell. Carl was doing good. We all were doing good.

The house had emptied quite a bit over time. Michonne had her own room and so did Aly. Judith slept in my room, and sometimes Carl's. While Daryl and Vickie still stayed together. The rest had moved next door or other places. But it didn't really matter. We still saw each other. We were still family.

Since the wall fell and the walkers got in and Carl lost his eye, he'd healed up pretty well. It wasn't a hundred percent yet, but it was getting there, and he was dealing with it pretty well. Though considering everything else he'd been through I wasn't really surprised.

"Vickie." Michonne looked down the hall before my daughter appeared, dressed and ready for the day.

Turning to Michonne, stopping just behind her, she gave a short nod. "Hey, what's up?"

Michonne looked over her shoulder at Vickie. "Could I borrow some toothpaste?"

Vickie shook her head. "All out, sorry. But we'll keep an eye out today." she smiled before turning to me. "You ready?"

Nodding I bent down and lifted Judith into my arms. "Come on, sweetheart." rocking her on my side I started for the door.

Michonne stepped to the side so I could leave the room. "You be good out there you two." she told Vickie and myself.

"Yeah, we'll see." I shrugged, moving past her.

"Spearmint and baking soda, that's my favourite." she noted as Vickie and I headed off.

I chuckled lightly. "Soon as I get it, you will."

**DPOV**

"Hey." I called to Denise as I walked up to her.

"Yes." she nodded.

I gestured to the list in my hand. "This thing at the bottom right here, you're talking about the drink, right?" I asked as she came to a stop in front of me.

"I am, but... Eh." she shrugged.

"It's not medical." I noted.

"No, I drew a line between the important stuff and that." she pointed to the note to show we what she was talking about. "I just figured, if you saw it."

"A'right." I nodded, about to head off.

She started talking, stopping me. "Anything remotely medical is a priority. And food. Maybe even food before medicine. And gas or batteries or books for the kids or clothes. It's just, if you see it, if it just happens to, you know, be right there."

I shrugged. "You like it, right?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't drink pop."

I looked at her confused. "What the hell's pop?"

A laugh had me turn around, seeing Vic walking towards us, Aly and the dog close behind. "It's soda, Daryl. Fizzy drink. Cool drink. Soft drink. There's a few different words for it." she shrugged, coming to stand with us. "What's up?"

My arm went around her waist automatically. "Just askin' the doc a question about the list she gave me."

Nodding, Vic looked over at the list, seeming to figure out what I'd been asking right away. "So if you don't like 'pop' what's it for?"

Denise didn't answer right away, her eyes landing on Aly for a moment before she turned to Vic and me again, speaking up. "Tara was talking about it in her sleep, I think. Um, so, either she likes it or she doesn't, but it she likes it, it'd be a really nice surprise." she answered. "I'm not good with that kind of stuff. And she and Heath are going on that two-week run. I just thought it'd be a nice going-away present. Just, us, don't go out of your way. And, us, if it gives you any trouble-"

I cut her off. "We won't."

She nodded. "Okay, good, 'cause it's not important. I should've said so instead of just drawing a line."

Vic smiled at her. "It's fine, Denise." placing a hand on Aly's head, she gestured to the little girl. "You still okay with watching her? I can see if Carol's-"

"No." Denise interrupted her. "No, it's fine. I like watching her and Houdini. Tara likes it too. We don't get to see her as much now that Tara moved in with me." she smiled down at Aly. "You ready to come hang out?"

Aly nodded enthusiastically. "Can I play with the stethoscope?"

"Sure." with that one word from Denise, Aly rushed off excitedly, heading for the infirmary. "I better." she gestured towards the little girl.

Vic laughed lightly. "She's got an overnight bag just in case."

"Okay, cool, well..." Denise gave a short wave, turning in the direction Aly had gone.

Once she was walking away, I tugged on Vic's waist. "Come on. Better get goin'."

**VPOV**

Dad was driving, with Daryl in the passenger side and me in the back. Daryl had his chair pulled back as much as possible so I could lean my back against the door and reach forward to rest my hand on his shoulder.

We got to the front gate, stopping as we waited for Eugene to open it. But before we could go he moved to Daryl's window and leaned in.

"I mapped out some of the agricultural supply places in the area." he noted, handing Daryl a map. "Even if they've been cleaned out, my bet is that the sorghum would be untouched. Now, that there is a criminally underrated grain that could change the game with our food situation from scary to hunky-dunky."

Dad and Daryl just looked at him and I could tell in an instant that they could not believe Eugene was for real. The guy was a character, I could tell you that. No matter how hard the world got, he was still one of the more entertaining and interesting people I knew.

Mistaking the looks from dad and Daryl as confusion, Eugene explained himself. "I'm taking standability, drought tolerance, grain-to-stover ratio that is the envy of all corns." he looked at Daryl. "Think about it."

"Thanks." was all Daryl could manage.

"All right. Okay." Eugene nodded, and with that he stepped back from the car.

Dad slowly drove off, still watching Eugene with shock. It was then that I cracked up laughing, unable to stop myself. The look on their faces was just too funny.

When my laughter died down and the guys recovered, dad spoke up. "Today's the day."

Daryl lifted his right arm and leaned it against the door, before bending his elbow so his hand could reach mine- which still rested on his shoulder. "Uh-huh."

"We're gonna find food, maybe some people." dad nodded. "Law of averages has got to catch up."

"I don't know." Daryl started. "We ain't seen nobody for weeks. Maybe we ain't gonna find nobody. Maybe that's a good thing." he noted, looking out the window, getting himself more comfortable.

Dad just looked at him before shaking his head, grabbing a cd.

Daryl noticed what he was doing, turning back to dad. "Don't." he warned. "Don't. Please don't."

But dad ignored him, putting the cd in and turning the radio up before old country music started to play loudly. "Draws them away from home." he yelled over the music, clicking his fingers.

I laughed, shaking my head, watching Daryl through the mirror as he gave my dad death glares. Dad, who knew he was annoying Daryl, looked up at the rear-view mirror, setting his eyes on me before grinning as he continued down the road.

**MPOV**

"Hey." I called to Enid.

I'd found her sitting on a bench, writing or drawing in a book, by herself. She'd hadn't been around lately- at least I hadn't seen her- so now that she was here, I was taking the chance to speak with her.

She looked up at me and closed her book as I came to stand by her.

"Where have you been?" I asked.

"What?"

"I never see you." I noted. "Everybody's been working for weeks to get this place back together, and you just disappear. Do you sit in your room all day?"

"No."

"Then where'd you go?"

"Nowhere."

"You helped Glenn get home. You helped me when I was up in that guard post."

"Yeah?" she shrugged.

"So, maybe there are better places for you to go than just nowhere." I gave her a look, letting her know I was there for her, before putting it in words. "I'm around. Come talk to me." was all I said before turning around and walking off.

**VPOV**

"Dad, wait!"

Dad pressed on the brakes hard before turning to me expectantly, waiting.

I gestured over to my right at a building near an open field. On the roof of the building was one simple word. Sorghum.

Daryl and dad looked over to the building, before looking at each other. Then, without another word being said, dad reversed back a little and turned into a road, heading towards the building.

Once we were there, the three of us got out, Daryl waiting for me to join him before the two of us set out after dad- who was already moving to the front door of the building to see if it was locked and safe or not.

Daryl came to a stop by the roller-shutter, causing me to pause as well as he called out to my dad. "Hey, hold up." he pulled out the crow bar from the bag he carried. "It's best to be safe. You cover it?" he gestured behind him as he moved to the shutter.

Dad nodded, gun in hand. "Yeah.

Moving to join dad, my own gun raised, we waited for Daryl. Daryl pulled the shutter up quickly and stepped out of the way so dad and I could move forward a little and look inside, ready for any human or walker to jump out at us.

I looked down the side of the truck that was stashed in the building, before lowering my gun. "Clear."

"Yeah, we're good." dad agreed turning to the truck. "One more time?"

Daryl stepped up to the truck. "It ain't locked." he noted, getting ready. With a single nod to dad and myself, he pulled the trucks back up and open.

Dad and I had our guns raised, ready for anything to jump out. But we weren't ready for what was actually inside the truck...

Supplies. Lots and lots of supplies. I'm talking tin food, cleaning products, hygiene products, bedding, clothes. Everything you could need.

Dad stepped back, lowering his gun as he took it all in. "Well, how about that?" putting his gun away he looked to Daryl- who was climbing into the back of the truck. "The law of averages."

Daryl jumped down and moved to me. "You called it."

I grinned. "Yep."

Reaching forward, dad pulled out some toothpaste. "Let's get this thing going, grab our gear, come back for the car later." he put the toothpaste back. "We'll take another way back. See what we can see."

Daryl stepped up to the truck. "Think it'll start?"

"Yeah, I do." dad nodded, feeling confident about the day ahead. Chuckling lightly, he shook his head. "Sorghum."

 

...

 

Dad drove the truck, while I sat in the middle, leaning against Daryl. Going down the road, we all kept an eye out for any place we could search for supplies. Even though the truck was full, it would still be good to find some more.

We came to a gas station. Dad pulled up and parked the truck before getting out. Daryl got out as well, turning to me once his feet were on the floor, offering me a hand to get out. With a smile on my face, I took his hand.

Walking around the truck and towards the building, we started to look around, splitting up to search the place. Though we didn't stray too far or go into the building itself- we played it safe.

I lifted some material off a pile of junk and felt a smile creep on to my face. Sitting there, among the junk, was a metal baseball bat in perfect condition. Reaching down and picking it up, and gave a swing, my smile growing a little.

"What you got?" dad asked, stepping up to me.

I showed him the bat. "Remember? I used to be on my schools all girl team. Only for a while, but still." I shrugged. "Maybe I could teach Aly."

From behind us, Daryl tapped his hand on something. "Yo, give me a hand with this."

Turning I saw that he was standing by a flipped over vending machine. I had a feeling Denise' request was on his mind, so I tapped dad on the arm, telling him to follow before the two of us moved over to Daryl, ready to help.

Daryl nodded. "Let's flip it over." he said as he moved to a corner on one of the long sides.

Dad moved to the other corner and I stood in between them, hands in place, ready to push with all my mite.

The three of us tried, straining and pushing. But it was no use. There was no way we were going to be able to get this thing to roll. Not with only the three of us pushing. So we had no choice but to let it go.

Dad shook his head. "I don't think we got it."

Daryl moved over to the other side. I watched him as he looked around the machine, trying to figure out how we could roll it over. He wasn't going to just give up, not like that.

Then, he turned to the truck. "I got an idea."

**DPOV**

Vic and I stood behind the vending machine- was now had a chain around it, which was connected to the truck. Rick was in the truck, engine on, moving forward slowly, turning the machine over.

Once it was over enough, I gave a whistle, letting Rick know to stop.

Vic moved forward, crouching in front of the machine, looking in. "Can't really see much in there."

Rick walked over, both him and myself moving closer to Vic and the machine to look inside as well.

"It's soda and candy. Why the trouble?" Rick asked.

"It wasn't any trouble." I told him.

Before anyone could say anything else, someone barged into Rick, pushing him against the vending machine with a loud thud. The person then moved quickly, getting out of the way, stepping back from the three of us with his hands in the air.

Just as quickly, Vic, Rick and myself moved, getting our guns out, aiming them at the stranger.

The stranger was dressed in a long leather coat, jeans, a shirt, with a beanie on his head, his hair falling over his chest and a bandana covering the bottom half of his face.

He gave a short nod, hands still raised. "Hi."

 

**Bamby**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 13**

**My Friends Used to Call Me Jesus**

**VPOV**

"Back up!" Daryl took a single step closer to the stranger, putting himself in front of me. "Now!"

"Keep 'em up!" dad warned.

"Whoa. Easy guys. I was just running from the dead." the stranger told us.

"How many?" Daryl asked.

The stranger was breathing heavily on the other side of his bandana. "Ten, maybe more. I'm not risking it. Once it gets to double digits, I start running."

Daryl spoke before the rest of us could. "Where?"

"About a half a mile back. They're headed this way. You probably have about eleven minutes."

It took a moment, but eventually dad gave a nod and lowered his gun. "Okay, thanks for letting us know." seeing dad relax a little, I lowered my gun as well.

"Yeah." the stranger shrugged. "There's more of them than us, right? Gotta stick together." his eyes turned to Daryl- who still had his gun raised. "Right?"

I placed a gentle hand on Daryl's arm. "Hey."

He looked over at me for a moment before letting out a short sigh and lowering his gun. With that, he turned back to the stranger.

The stranger dropped his hands. "You have a camp?"

I shook my head. "No. You?"

"No." he answered before moving back. "Sorry for running into you. I'm gonna go now." he turned around. "If this is the next world, I hope it's good to you guys."

Before he could get far, dad called out to him. "I'm Rick. This Daryl, and Victoria. What's your name?"

The guy stopped and turned to us again. Lowering his mask, he spoke. "Paul Rovia. But my friends used to call me Jesus. Your pick."

"You said you didn't have a camp." dad went on. "You on your own?"

"Yeah." Jesus gave a short nod. "But still, best not to try anything."

"Best not to make threats you can't keep, either." Daryl was calm, but I could tell he was ready for anything.

"Exactly." Jesus agreed, and then turned to leave.

Dad tried to stop him again. "How many walkers-"

Daryl cut him off. "No, not this guy."

But dad didn't listen to him. "How many walkers have you killed?"

But Jesus kept going. "Sorry, gotta run. You should, too. Think you've got about seven minutes." he yelled back as he disappeared around the corner.

Daryl turned to dad. "What the hell was that?"

"He was clean. His beard, it was trimmed." dad noted. "There's more going on there."

"He didn't have a gun, either." Daryl added.

"We could track him, watch him for a while." dad suggested. "Get to know more, see if he's really alone. Maybe bring him back."

Daryl shook his head. "Nah, guy calls himself Jesus."

While they'd been talking, I'd been thinking. I couldn't help but feel like something wasn't right. I mean, the guy just said walkers were coming from behind this building, headed this way... Why'd he run back into the forest? Why not cross across the road?

The sound of gun shots had the three of us turn towards the building, hearing the sound coming from behind.

Straight away we got our guns out and stepped into action, carefully moving around to see what was going on. Daryl kept me behind him as he walked behind dad, etching closer to the corner so we could look around.

As we got closer the sound happened again. Only now we realized it was the sound of firecrackers, not gunshots, and they'd been deliberately put in a barrel.

Dad turned to us. "Firecrackers. Shit."

"He swiped your keys, didn't he?" Daryl asked.

Dad felt his pockets. "Shit!"

Not letting another second go, we turned and made a run for the truck, only to find it already driving away.

"Sorry!" Jesus called as he dropped our bag out the window of the truck and continued down the road, dragging the vending machine behind him.

The three of us came to stand in the middle of the road, watching the truck get further and further away.

"Shit." dad repeated for the third time.

**CPOV**

I was walking through the woods with Enid. We'd been going out here for a few weeks now. Once Vickie decided to become a lead, and stopped hanging around home all the time, I'd started sneaking out with Enid like we used to.

"Look." Enid walked a little faster to come stand next to me, reaching down to pick up a piece of paper.

"What's it say?" I asked.

She unfolded the paper and sighed. "It got wet. It's all gone."

"Come on." I gestured for her to follow, moving on.

"It doesn't look that old." she noted, following me.

"Yeah?"

"I mean, we can't read what they wrote, but just by doing this, they're saying something."

"What?"

"'We're not alone.'" she chuckled lightly.

"We knew that. We saw it. People died."

She'd fallen silent for a moment, but eventually she spoke again, changing the subject. "Why are we coming out here?"

I shrugged. "'Cause we're kids. It's what they do."

She sighed. "We're not kids."

**DPOV**

Running along the road, one or two steps ahead of the others, we followed the fresh tracks of a vehicle driving on the road. With all the leave and crap on the road, it wasn't hard for us to figure out how to follow the truck.

Feet hitting the hard road fast, sweat pouring off us, breath coming out sharp. We were exhausted and sore. But we had to keep going.

We found the vending machine soon enough. It must have snapped the chain it was tied with. Now it was just lying on the road.

Moving to the vending machine, bag on my back, I looked inside, while Vic and Rick had their guns out, keep an eye out for any danger.

Pulling the bag off my back and dropping it on the floor, I reached in and found my hand grabbing a hold of the baseball bat Vic had stashed in their earlier. Taking it out of the bag I lifted it and swung, hit the vending machine glass and smashing it.

"Here." I stretched my arm back, offering the bat to Vic, who then took it.

With both hands free I reached into the machine and pulled all the food that was inside. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Reaching in one last time, I grabbed the few cans of orange soda inside before showing them to Rick.

"This was a special request from the doctor." I told him as I grabbed one of the leaking ones, lifting it to my lips for a drink.

Rick sighed with a shrug. "Hey, whatever she wants. She saved Carl's life." he noted as I handed him the can. "We didn't know her, and she turned out to be all right. If there's still people out here and they're still people, we should bring 'em in." he handed me the can back.

I handed it to Vic before gesturing down the road. "What about this guy?"

"No, fuck this guy." was all he said before he moved to the vending machine to look in.

"Hey, here." Vic rested her hand on my arm, gesturing for me to take the can.

I took it and finished it off, throwing it over my shoulder once I was done. Turning to her, I nodded to her side. "You doin' okay?"

Even though she was healed she still had sharp pains in her side whenever she moved around too much. I knew this because of how active we'd been lately. Sometimes we'd get a little too physical and she'd have to stop because of the pain, it could be that bad.

Shaking her head, she crouched down to put the bat back in the bag. "I'm fine."

Knowing she wasn't going to say anything else, I turned to Rick. "We still got a trail."

He shrugged. "Let's go." so we did.

**CPOV**

Enid and I sat against our log in the little area we'd set up for ourselves in the forest. I was reading a magazine, while she kept trying to figure out the letter she'd found. We were silent, sharing some smacks, just hanging out.

The sound of leaves rustling had us both look up.

"Come on." Enid got to her feet, moving to leave.

But I stayed on the ground, crouching down, gun in hand, watching for any movement.

That's when my eyes landed on Michonne and Spencer as they walked through the forest, not spotting the two of us. I wasn't sure what they were doing exactly, but I wasn't planning on letting them know we were out here too.

Once they were gone, I got to my feet. "It was just Michonne and Spencer." moving back I sat down and grabbed my comic again.

Enid moved out from behind a tree. "What were they doing?"

I shrugged. "Walking. I don't know."

We fell into silence again as I kept reading. I waited for Enid to come and sit back down, but she didn't. She didn't even move. I could tell she was still behind me, still standing there, I just didn't know why.

"I don't want to come out here anymore." she finally said.

Dropping the comic book on the ground next to me, I got to my feet again. Picking up all our stuff I put it all in the metal box next to the log before closing it up and turning to leave.

"Okay." was all I said before I headed off.

We didn't get very far before we heard the soft sounds of a walkers snarling.

Stopping in our tracks we looked over, seeing the walkers moving off in the opposite direction as us.

I started for it, only to have Enid call to me. "Carl."

"Michonne's out here." I explained. "I'm not leaving it." giving a little whistle, I got the walker's attention.

It turned and we froze... it was Deanna.

"No." I could hear Enid's fear in her voice. Not because it was a walker, but because it was Deanna.

"Hey, come on." I called to it.

"What are you doing?"

I ignored Enid. "Come on."

"What are you doing?" she repeated.

"Just go." I told her.

"We should kill it."

"Go home."

"No."

"Enid."

"This is bullshit. It should be dead." she stepped forward. But I grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Let go." she struggled against me.

"Just leave."

The walker snarled, grabbing Enid's shoulder.

I pulled Enid behind me, and shoved the walker to the ground before turning back. "You're not killing it." I told Enid, looking at the walker again.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You wouldn't understand." I turned to her again. "You don't want to be out here. You said it. So go home."

She walked off, leaving me with the walker. Once I knew she was gone I started to lead the walker, taking it straight to Michonne and Spencer.

**VPOV**

We'd found the truck and Jesus. One of the tires must have needed to be changed, because we'd found him out on the road, fiddling with a tire iron.

Knowing we needed the element of surprise, dad, Daryl and myself had snuck into the trees and moved closer to the truck, watching, staying quiet, getting ready to move in. Once we were ready, we moved.

Dad made his way around the front of the truck so he could move around it without Jesus- who was at the back- knowing he was there. I waited in the tree lines, hiding behind a bush, watching.

Dad jumped out and grabbed Jesus. "Hold still and maybe we won't hurt you."

Jesus gave a nod. "Sure thing." then suddenly, he elbowed and head-butted dad, got free, kicked him in the stomach and made a run for it.

Daryl came barging out, swinging to hit Jesus.

But Jesus was readying, blocking Daryl and grabbing him, throwing him against the truck. With both men dealt with, he went to leave again.

I got out from the bushes as quickly as I could, throwing my knife so it just missed his face and dug into the side of the truck.

Jesus turned to me, smirked, and started forward. "I don't like fighting women, but I won't go easy on you." he warned.

I grinned. "Good."

With that he pounced, moving to grab me. We fought for a little bit, he got a couple of punches in, and I hit him just as good. But I moved faster and before he realised what was happening, I ducked down, swung my leg out and tripped him over.

Just like that, dad and Daryl were beside me, our guns aimed at Jesus' face.

"This is done." dad said, his tone agitated and final.

A walker came out of the bushes, headed towards us. But we ignored it, our attention on the guy in front of us.

Jesus sighed. "Do you even have any ammo?"

All three of us lifted our guns to the walker and shot it before aiming at Jesus again, the message clear.

"Okay." he nodded. "You gonna shoot me over a truck?"

Dad shrugged. "There's a lot of food on that truck. The keys, now."

But Jesus wouldn't give up. "I think you know I'm not a bad guy."

"Yeah?" dad started. "What do you know about us?"

"Hand over the keys." I stepped forward, cocking my gun. "We're not asking again."

Once Jesus handed over the keys we lowered our guns. Dad got to tying Jesus up, while Daryl and I stepped to the side, checking the contents of our bag. When Jesus had thrown him against the truck he'd hit his back, which the bag was on, so one of the cans inside had broken. One seemed fine, but the other had leaked everywhere.

"Damn it." Daryl sighed.

I stepped closer to him, holding my bat that we'd pulled out of the bag, bringing my other hand up to rest on his shoulder. "We still got one."

"Yeah." Daryl looked away from the bag.

His eyes landing on a cut on my cheek where I'd been hurt. I could feel it ran from the corner of my eye and about an inch of more down towards the corner of my mouth. I wasn't really sure how I got the cut, I just knew it was sore.

"You okay?" he asked, cupping my cheek, looking at me with the worry he only ever had with me.

"Fine." it wasn't a complete lie. I was fine, and I would be fine. But everywhere Jesus had got me hurt like hell. I just hoped he felt just as bad.

"You're gonna leave me here like this?" Jesus asked dad. "You're really gonna do that?"

"The knots aren't that tight." dad told him. "You should be able to get free after we're long gone." he finished with the knots and got up, moving to me. Gently grabbing my arm, he looked at my cut. "You okay?"

"Fine." I offered a small smile. "Come on, let's go."

"Maybe we should talk now." Jesus suggested.

Grabbing the leaking can from Daryl, I shook my head. "Nope." I quickly gave the can a shake before tossing it on the ground. "Always good to stay hydrated."

Daryl's arm slipped around my waist. "Let's go." he tugged on me, the two of us heading around the truck, leaving Jesus there.

Daryl helped me get in before pulling himself into the truck. He closed his door, put the last can in the drink holder, and then put an arm around my shoulder, pulling me close. Dad swung the keys around his finger, grinning at us, causing Daryl and I to chuckle lightly.

Lifting his feet on to the dash, Daryl got himself comfortable. "So long, you prick!" he called out, sticking his hand out the window to flip Jesus off as dad started down the road.

 

...

 

"Still worked out." dad noted as he drove down the road. "Today still is the day."

Leaning against Daryl I smiled as his hand appeared in front of my face, offering me a piece of chocolate. I opened my mouth and took it from him, snuggling into his side more as he gave himself a piece.

"Hey, look at that." dad gestured ahead of us.

"Yeah, a barn." Daryl lowered his feet of the dash, shifting in the seat a little.

Dad turned into the road leading to the barn. As we went from the smooth road to the bumpy driveway we heard a loud thud coming from above.

Frowning, I turned the radio down. "Did you guys hear that?"

We all waited a moment, listening. Before long, we heard it again.

Daryl gestured up. "I think that son of a bitch is on the roof."

"Hold on." dad warned before slamming on the brakes.

Sure enough, Jesus rolled off the roof, landing on the ground in front of the truck with a grunt. He managed to get on to his feet and looked to the three of us. Then he was off, running away.

Dad moved quickly, moving the truck forward, following the guy.

"Wait here." was all Daryl was before he opened his door and jumped out.

"Daryl!" I called after him. "Daryl!" Shaking my head, I grabbed my gun before turning to dad. "Be right back." I told him and then jumped out of the truck as well.

"Vickie!" dad yelled after me, but I ignored him.

Daryl and I chased Jesus around for a while, while dad kept trying to block off his path with the truck. But he was quick, the truck was slow, and Daryl and I never got close enough to grab the guy.

"We came to a conclusion, asshole!" Daryl yelled.

Dad was out of the truck now, trying to figure out what he could do. I just waved him off. "We got him!"

With that, dad rushed off. I'm not sure what he was doing, I just knew he was going off to do something, while Daryl and I still chased Jesus.

Of course, now that dad wasn't in or near the truck, Jesus took the opportunity to get in the vehicle.

"You got left, I go right." Daryl told me as he followed the guy.

I moved to the passenger side, opening the door and climbing in just as Daryl grabbed on to Jesus from the driver's side, trying to pull the guy out.

"Come here!" Daryl grunted.

As I tried to shove Jesus- the position and angle was a little awkward- Daryl continued to try and pull the guy out.

Looking up for a moment I felt my inside go cold at the sight of a walker headed toward us. "Daryl! Look out!"

Before he could move, Jesus reached over, grabbed Daryl's gun and raised it. Daryl froze at first, sure Jesus was going to shoot him.

Instead, Jesus said one word. "Duck."

Doing exactly that, Daryl ducked right in time for Jesus to shoot the walker.

Once the walker was dead Daryl looked over at it and then turned back to Jesus. "Thanks." he gave a short nod before punching the guy in the face. "That's my gun!" he climbed into the truck. "Come here!"

As Daryl struggled to pull Jesus out somehow the hand brake was moved. The truck began to roll backwards, heading straight for the lake behind it.

The three of us realized this quickly and moved. Daryl jumped out pretty much instantly, with Jesus right behind him. But as I went to get out as well, I found my jeans were caught of a broken part of the chair.

"Shit." pulling and tugging on my leg I felt the truck slow down as it hit the water- but it didn't slow down much.

Daryl- once he noticed I was still in the truck- started forward, ready to jump in the water to help me. "Vic!"

"Vickie!" dad yelled, rushing over as well.

Ignoring them and staying calm, I pulled out my knife and cut my jeans, feeling the water rising. With the truck doors closed, and water pressing against them, I knew they wouldn't open. So I grabbed my bat, aimed at the front window, and swung.

The glass shattered.

Still holding my bat, with my knife and gun tucked away, I climbed through the window, on to the hood, and dived into the water. I swam until I could finally stand in the water.

Walking back on to dry land, I looked down at Jesus, who was unconscious by my feet. "What happened to him?"

Daryl rushed to me, ignoring my question, checking me over for any injuries. "You a'right?"

I gave a short nod. "Fine. Just a little wet." grabbing a corner of my shirt, I twisted it and rung out some water. "Can we go home now?"

"Yeah." he nodded, putting and arm around my waist as he turned us towards dad. "Law of averages. That's bullshit, man." he told him. "Let's go check them cars, get the hell out of here." he gestured to the vehicles by the barn.

"What about the guy." dad asked, looking at Jesus.

Daryl shrugged. "What about him?"

"Well, he helped you." dad noted.

Daryl looked from Jesus, to dad and then back. "Maybe."

I looked up at him. "He did, Daryl. Admit it."

Sighing, he let his arm fall from my waist. "Fine. Let's put him up a tree."

**RPOV**

 

Vickie was asleep in the spot next to me as I drove along the road, heading home. Daryl was in the back, with Jesus next to him. Even though he'd said to put him in a tree, Daryl hadn't been able to go through with. So we were bringing Jesus back with us.

Looking through the rearview mirror I watch Daryl. Swerving along the road slightly, I caused Jesus to slide over and rest on Daryl's shoulder.

Daryl didn't hesitate a second before shoving the guy off him, giving me a warning look as he did so.

"He took a pretty hard hit." I noted. "Denise needs to look him over."

"Yeah."

I looked over my shoulder for a moment. "You wouldn't have gone through with it. You wouldn't have left him."

"I would've, right up in a tree." Daryl argued. "I would've."

I sighed. "No. I know. Almost as soon as we got to Alexandria, you got it. You saw... You, Vickie, Michonne, Glenn, you all tried to tell me. So shut up." I told him before swerving the car again, making Jesus rest on his shoulder once more.

With a grunt, Daryl pushed the guy over enough so he was leaning on the opposite side, as far from him as possible, giving me another warning look.

Ignoring him, I went on. "'Cause I'm finally listening."

Vickie moaned lightly next to me. "Dad?"

With my eyes on the road, I nodded. "Yeah?"

"I'm cold."

It wasn't a surprise really, considering her clothes were soaked through. She'd taken off her top shirt, leaving her in a thin, white tank, which obviously wasn't doing anything to keep her warm.

There was noise in the back but before I could see what Daryl was doing, he'd already thrown Jesus' leather coat on to Vickie's lap.

"Here." he simply told her.

She didn't hesitate or say anything, she simply smiled and pulled the coat over her like a blanket. Soon enough she fell back asleep.

I knew the day had been a big one. I also knew she was sore. That fight she'd gotten in with Jesus hadn't caused too much damage, but I knew it would all be hurting now. Especially that cut on her face. Her side would be hurting too- where she'd gotten hurt months ago. It still wasn't a hundred percent yet.

Setting my eyes back on the road I pushed my foot down a little harder, wanting to get home as soon as possible.

**CPOV**

It was dark and the others weren't back yet. After I'd lead Deanna to Spencer and Michonne, I'd gone straight home. I wasn't sure where Enid was, or if she'd even gone back. I simply went straight home, where I stayed and waited.

Now I sat on the front porch, in a rocking chair, with Judith on my lap as I pointed up at the sky. "You see that bright on there?" she pointed to where I was pointing. "Yeah, that's the North Star. It's at the end of the Little Dipper. If you get lost at night, just find that star."

"Hey." Michonne walked on to the porch then, finally home.

I nodded at her. "Hey."

She came to a stop. "You have a good day?"

"I guess so." I answered as Judith began to babble. "I'm gonna take her in." I told her as I got to my feet.

Before I could go, she stopped me. "Carl. I saw what you did. With Deanna."

"Yeah?"

"You should've left her or killed her."

I shook my head. "No, that's stupid."

"What's stupid is you being out there when you don't have to."

"You did the same thing." I argued. "You didn't- You and Spencer didn't have to go out there, but you did."

"That's different."

"It's not. I wasn't gonna leave her out there like that. You wouldn't." when she went to argue I cut her off. "You wouldn't, I know it." shifting my hold on Judith, I went on. "I couldn't kill her."

"Why not?"

"Because- Be-" I sighed, not sure how to say what I was thinking.

"You could've killed her."

"No, I couldn't. I wouldn't."

"Were you playing some sort of game out there? Did you think that-"

"No."

"Then, why?"

Giving up, I just let the words out. "Because it should be someone who loved her, someone who's family, and I'd... I'd do it for you." when she fell silent and just stared at me, I gave a short nod. "I would."

A small smile crept on to her face. "Come here." stepping closer, she pulled me into her arms, hugging both Judith and I. "Me, too."

**DPOV**

As we neared the gates of Alexandria, I turned to look at Jesus- who was still unconscious. "You know, I was thinking, back before we went out to the quarry, the morning after Reg and Pete, you said we shouldn't be looking for people no more. You were right."

Rick stopped the car outside the gates. "No. I was wrong. You were right." blinking the headlights, he waited for someone to open the gate so we could drive in. Once they were open, he moved forward.

We drove through the community, stopping outside the infirmary. The lights were out, but we knew Denise would get up if we knocked. So we started to get out, Rick moving to get Jesus, while I opened Vic's door.

"Hey." I rocked her shoulder lightly. "Vic. Wake up."

Groaning, she slowly opened her eyes. "Daryl?"

"Yeah. We're back."

Looking around, she set her eyes on the infirmary. "Oh, thank God. I could use some pain killers." she said, swinging her legs out of the car.

Helping her out I made sure she was okay before I headed around to help Rick grab Jesus. He grabbed the legs, while I grabbed the body. Keeping a firm hold we followed Vic as she led us towards the front door of the infirmary.

Vic knocked once and waited. But when no one came, she knocked again. The porch lights flicked on and then the front door opened, revealing Tara and Denise.

"Sorry to wake you up."

Denise took one look at Vic. "What happened to you?"

"Was this guy's fault." I grunted.

Denise and Tara looked at the guy Rick and I were carrying. "Who is this?" the doctor asked.

"Come on, man, it's heavy." I told her. "Oh, that, that thing, uh, didn't work out. This assholes fault again. Sorry." I apologized, now that all the cans we'd found were gone.

She shook her head. "It's fine. Lay him on the bed."

I nodded. "A'right, take a look at him. He ain't stayin' though."

While Rick and I took Jesus to the bed, Denise turned to Vic. "Are you hurt anywhere else, other than your face?"

Vic shook her head. "I'm fine. Can I just grab some pain killers?"

"I'm gonna need to clean it up... It looks like it might scar..." the doc noted.

Vic just shrugged. "One more to add to the list."

Nodding Denise turned to Tara. "Can you grab her some pain killers?" Tara didn't say anything as she moved to grab the meds while Denise quickly fixed up Vic. Once she was done Denise stepped back. "You know the drill?"

"If it doesn't heal or if it gets worse, come back and let you take a look." Vic nodded. "Been hurt enough times to know what I gotta do."

Seeming pleased with that, Denise then turned and moved over to check Jesus over. While the doc was busy, and Rick watched Jesus, I moved to Vic.

"I'm gonna keep an eye on him till we find someone else to take over. You should go home. Take a shower. Go to bed. Be there when I can."

She nodded. "Just don't take too long." stepping closer she gave me a gentle kiss.

"Ah... here, Vickie."

Hearing Tara's voice, Vic stepped back and smiled at her friend, taking the small bottle of medicine she offered. "Thanks." turning back to me, her smile grew a little. "See you later." she nodded before walking out of the infirmary.

**RPOV**

I crashed on to the couch with a sigh.

Daryl was watching over Jesus, who'd gotten the all clear from the doctor. Vickie was upstairs- I could hear the shower running. Carl and Judith were in bed. Michonne was in the kitchen. Everything seemed fine, so I was more than happy to crash here for a while.

Michonne tapped my arm with her knee. "Move."

Doing as she said, I sat up and moved over so she could sit next to me.

Showing me the baby monitor screen, she chuckled lightly. "She's practicing in her sleep."

I watched as Judith rolled over in bed, trying to crawl. It was cute, something I'd seen before. Carl and Vickie had done the same kind of thing with they were little.

"It's good to be home." I nodded, pulling my boots off.

"Yeah, you're telling me." she reached over to out the monitor on the coffee table. "Where's Daryl?"

"Watching over a guy, till some other guy can take over."

"You found a guy?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "Crazy day."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No, not right now. I just want to turn my brain off for a minute." I said before turning to her. "You wanna tell me about your day?"

"No. Same thing."

"What, you found a guy?"

"Not a guy." was all she said.

We fell silent for a moment, staring ahead, just enjoying the quiet as we sunk into the couch a little more. It was nice, being able to sit here with her, and relax, without having to worry about making conversation. Michonne and I were comfortable around each other. It made things easy.

"Oh." remembering that I'd gotten something for her, I pulled it out of my pocket. "Got you something." I showed her the mints in my hand.

She laughed, taking them from me. "Is this instead of the toothpaste?"

"Mm-hmm." I nodded. "Well, I do have a crate of toothpaste for you. It's currently at the bottom of a lake."

"Oh, so you had a  _day_."

I chuckled lightly. "Yeah. All on account of your dental hygiene." I reached over to pat her hand that held the mints. "Have you mints."

Before either of us realized what was happening, our fingers intertwined.

Slowly I looked over at her, seeing her turning to look at me as well. We didn't say anything, we just watched each other for a moment, thinking the situation through, reading the other person's reaction.

Then without a second thought, I leaned over, pressing my lips to hers.

 

...

 

I was fast asleep. I felt incredible, relaxed, and exhausted. With the day I'd been through, and then the sex Michonne and I had, I'd fallen asleep almost instant, with Michonne right beside me.

"Rick." a whispered voice caught my attention.

I was sure the voice hadn't been real. Besides, even if it was, I didn't want to wake up. I wanted to stay here, in bed, with Michonne. So I ignored the voice.

"Rick, wake up." the voice was a little louder, and suddenly I realized it was real.

Michonne and I moved together, getting off the bed, her reaching for her sword while I grabbed my gun. Both of us turning to the person with our weapons raised and ready.

It was Jesus.

Looking at me, with a small grin on his lips and his hands raised in defense, he gave a short nod. "We should talk."

**  
**

**Chapter 14**

**Bisquick and Cookies**

**VPOV**

Walking down the hall, dressed in nothing but some underwear and one of Daryl's shirts that fell mid-thigh on me, with my hair pulled up into a messy bun, I headed towards the stairs. I'd grabbed an apple and knife before and was now going back to the kitchen to return the knife.

I came to a stop, changing the grip on my knife so I could use it as a weapon as Carl stepped out of his room to join me behind Jesus, who had made himself comfortable, sitting on the top of our stairs, looking at a painting.

"What the hell are you doing in our house?" Carl warned, gun aimed at Jesus' head.

"I'm, uh, sitting on the steps looking at this painting, waiting for your mum and dad to get dressed." Jesus shrugged, shifting the painting in his hands before looking over his shoulder to Carl. "Hi, I'm Jesus."

I didn't get a chance to ask what he meant by mum and dad before a door opened behind us, Michonne and dad stepping out, fixing their clothes up.

"Carl, Vickie, hey, um..."

Mentally, my jaw dropped as I took in the sight before me. I mean, it was obvious they'd slept together. But, I kept myself together, watching Jesus carefully.

A door downstairs closed and before long, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie and Abraham appeared, guns also raised at Jesus.

Michonne stepped forward. "It's okay."

Dad looked to Jesus. "You said we should talk. So let's talk."

Seeing that everything was fine, I spoke up. "Before we do that, could I get some proper clothes on?" I asked, lowering my knife. "I think we'd all feel a little better..."

**RPOV**

We sat at the dining room table, Jesus at the end while Michonne, Carl, Vickie and I sat facing him. Maggie, Glenn and Abraham stood at the other end, while Daryl paced behind Jesus.

"So, how'd you get out?" I asked.

"One guard can't cover two exits or third-floor windows." Jesus noted. "Knots untie and locks get picked. Entropy comes from order, right?"

"Right." Daryl answered. He clearly didn't like this guy.

"I checked out your arsenal." Jesus started. "I haven't seen anything like that in a long time. You're well-equipped, but your provisions are low. Very low for the amount of people you have. Fifty-four?"

"More." Vickie said dryly. She was on the defensive, ready for action if need be.

Jesus' eyes landed on her before going on. "Well, I appreciate the cookie. My compliments to the chef."

"Yeah, she ain't here." Daryl told him.

Jesus sighed, turning to him. "Look, we got off to a bad start. But we're on the same side, the living side. You, Rick and Vickie-"

Vickie cut him off. "It's Victoria."

"Sorry." Jesus went on. "You, Rick and Victoria had every reason to leave me out there, but you didn't. I'm from a place that's a lot like this one. Part of my job is searching out other settlements to trade with. I took your truck because my community needs things and the three of you look like trouble. I was wrong. You're good people. And this is a good place. I think our communities may be in a position to help each other."

"Do you have food?" Glenn asked, getting to business.

"We've started to raise livestock." Jesus answered. "We scavenge, we grow. Everything form tomatoes to sorghum."

I shrugged. "Tell us why we should believe you."

"I'll show you. If we take a car, I can take you back home in a day and you can all see for yourselves who we are and what we have to offer." Jesus offered.

"Wait, you're looking for  _more_ settlements." Maggie started. "You mean you're already trading with other groups?"

Jesus grinned, leaning back in his chair. "Your world is about to get a whole lot bigger."

**DPOV**

Vic stood next to me, Aly on her hip as I reached into the RV motor, fiddling around with parts to make sure everything worked right. We hadn't really used the vehicle since we brought it back where Rick had left it to get away from the walker herd. He'd told us about the 'W' people that shot at the engine and messed it up. It was fixed, but I was just making sure it still worked.

"Here, homemade oat cake." Denise walked up to us, offering Vic and myself some food wrapped in plastic. "Complex carbohydrates, omega-3s."

"Nah, I'm good." I told her, turning back to the engine. "We're gonna make a pit stop. I'll pick us up somethin' then."

"Like rabies?"

Vic laughed. "Here." reaching forward she grabbed one of the cakes. "Thank you."

Looking from Vic to Denise, I sighed. "This 'cause we tried to get you that stuff?"

"Yeah." Denise nodded, looking at me. "And you remind me of someone I used to know."

Wiping my hands on a rug, I gave in, taking the food. "Well... I hope it tastes better than it looks." I put it in my pocket. "'Cause it looks like shit."

Denise shrugged. "Shit's still better than road kill."

Vic laughed again, shaking her head, putting Aly on the ground. "Thanks Denise. For the food and for taking care of Aly." she looked down at the little girl, crouching so she was at her level, petting the dogs head as she spoke. "We'll be back tomorrow. You're staying with Denise and Tara again. Okay?"

She didn't say anything at first. I knew she was worried. She was always worried.

You'd think we'd be used to that by now, but we weren't. It broke Vic's heart knowing that every time we left her here, it hurt the little girl. When she'd seen Vic this morning, with the cut on her face I could tell she'd been worried, and that had upset Vic.

"Don't worry, Squirt." Abraham had been putting stuff in the vehicle, getting ready for all of us to go before he must have over heard us. He knelt in front of her. "I'll keep an eye on your mum. Won't let a thing touch her."

Aly's face lit up a little as she looked at the grown man before she gave a short nod. "Okay."

"All right." Abraham nodded, standing back up and walking off.

Vic watched the man go with a grateful smile on her face before she turned to Aly. "Now give me a hug." she opened her arms.

Aly stepped into Vic's arms, the two hugging for a moment as Vic held her tight, close to her chest. When she didn't let go right away, she was having a tough time knowing we were going out again. We both missed the kid.

"You can let go now, mum." Aly laughed. Once Vic stepped back, the little girl threw her arms around my legs. "Bye Daryl."

Smiling down at her lightly, I ruffled her hair a little. "We'll be back."

"Okay, let's go." Denise smiled, offering her hand.

Aly took it and gave Vic and I a little wave before she followed the doctor, walking away with the dog right behind them.

Vic stood again, turning to me. "You think we should tell someone we're trying to have a baby?" she spoke quietly so no one heard. "I just..." she sighed. "I know it's only been a couple of months, but I'd really hoped we'd be seeing some signs by now."

"Hey." I shook my head, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. "We're fine. Either way, we're fine."

Slowly a smile crept on to her lips. "I know." she agreed as she stepped forward, pressing her lips to mine.

**CPOV**

Dad walked up to me as I finished putting gas in the RV. Judith was in his arms, waving at me as they got closer.

"You sure?" I asked him, knowing he understood what I meant. I didn't really like the idea of him going to go check out this community.

"No." he answered honestly. "But if he's telling the truth, this could be the start of everything." the sound of voices had us look over, seeing Michonne and Jesus walking down the porch stairs. Dad sighed. "Look, I was gonna tell you about me and Michonne, but it just happened. It  _just_  happened. Last night."

I watched him, not saying a word, seeing him squirm thinking I wasn't happy.

"This is different." he tried to explain.

Unable to help it, I let myself grin. "It's cool."

Relaxing, he smiled, nodding. "All right. Get your stuff. Gabriel can take care of Judith while we're gone."

I shook my head. "No, I'm not coming." when he looked at me confused, I went on. "Someone's got to stay back, keep this place safe. A kid with a messed-up face probably wouldn't make the best first impression anyway."

Not saying anything else, seeming to understand, he handed Judith over, grabbed a jerry can and headed off, moving to the RV door.

**VPOV**

I leaned against Daryl, my head on his shoulder, his arm around me. Abraham was on my other side. Glenn, Maggie and Jesus across from us. Dad drove and Michonne sat in the passenger seat. We were all silent, just sitting and enjoying the ride- as much as we could.

I felt guilt bubble inside me as I thought about Aly at home. Leaving to go scavenging was different than what we were doing here. We were headed into unknown territory with a complete stranger I still wasn't sure I could trust or not.

Out of nowhere, Abraham leaned forward. "Hey." he nodded to Glenn.

Glenn sat next to a sleeping Maggie, his hand on her stomach, looking out the window. The two looked perfect and peaceful. My two best friends. I was so proud of them for what they were doing.

Abraham went on once he had Glenn's attention. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Glenn nodded.

"When you were, uh, pouring the Bisquick, were you tryna make pancakes?" Abraham asked.

It took me a moment, but I figured out what he was trying to say. A little laugh escaped my lips, causing Glenn to look to me, confused, and then turn back to Abraham.

"Uh... Yes?" it took him a few more seconds, but then Glenn got it. "Oh, okay." he laughed lightly. "Um... Yeah, it's something that we talked about, yeah. Why?"

"No, I just..." Abraham tried to get the right words. "Well, given the precarious state of affairs on any given Sunday, I am damn near floored that you or anyone else would have the  _cojones_  to make a call like that."

"I mean, well..." Glenn started, looking at Maggie for a moment before turning back. "We're trying to build something, me and her. All of us."

Hearing those words, knowing Glenn was right, I leaned against Daryl more just as his arm tugged me closer, moving to rest on the side of my stomach, rubbing that area gently. We didn't move fast, or do anything big, so when no one seemed to notice, I found myself both relieved and disappointed.

Abraham didn't say anything at first, but after a moment, he responded. "For the record, I see rain coming, I'm wearing galoshes. I double up." he said matter-of-factly.

Smiling, letting a little laugh escape my lips again, I turned away from the two men, finding my eyes land on Jesus, who was looking right at me.

Actually, he was looking at Daryl's hand.  _I guess someone did notice..._

His eyes moved up and landed on mine as a small smirked played on his lips. It wasn't mischievous or evil. No, I could see he meant no malice. In fact, I couldn't help but feel like he was silently congratulating us, and maybe a little happy.

When the RV slowed and turned, Daryl reached for the blinds of the window behind us, looking out. "Yo, Rick, what's goin' on?"

"We got a crash ahead." dad answered. "Looks like it just happened."

Jesus tore his eyes away from mine, standing up and moving so he could look out the window. "It's one of ours." he said before rushing for the RV door.

We all followed him, stepping out once the RV was stopped, moving to go check out the crash site. I was worried about there being any people in the crash, so I stepped up to check. I didn't realize dad was worried about something else.

He raised his gun at Jesus. "If this is a trick, it won't end well for you."

"My people are in trouble. They don't..." Jesus stopped himself before going on, clearly worried. "We don't have a lot of fighters. I know how it looks, but I'll play it out. Can I borrow a gun?"

"No." Daryl shook his head, gesturing to the ground. "We got tracks right here."

Daryl and I took the lead, the only two people in our group that could follow tracks. As we moved along the path, the others following, we eventually got to a building where the tracks stopped.

Dad stepped forward, gun still raised, banging his fist against the glass door.

"They got to be in there." Jesus told us.

"We moving in or what?" Abraham asked.

Daryl shook his head. "How do we know this ain't firecrackers in a trash can?" he had a good point.

Jesus sighed. "You don't."

Dad gave a short nod. "We'll get your people. You're staying here with one of us."

When Jesus turned to the rest of us, looking for back up, he found none.

Michonne shrugged. "That's the deal."

Glenn walked up to Maggie. "Will you stay?"

"Yeah." she nodded.

I moved from where I stood with Daryl, to join Maggie. "I'll stay, too. One watches him, the other watches everything else. It'll be safer."

Maggie seemed to agree with me. "Y'all go. Just be careful."

"Yeah." dad stepped up to Jesus, handcuffing him. "We're gonna be careful."

"Just hurry." Jesus told him.

Dad turned to look at me once Jesus was cuffed. "You hear me whistle, shoot him."

"We will." I reassured him, raising my gun to aim it at Jesus.

Daryl gave me a quick look as the others moved to the door of the building. Silently telling me to be careful and don't be a hero, he hesitated a moment longer before turning and joining the others.

**DPOV**

We'd split up. Rick went with Michonne, Abraham was on his own, while I stuck with Glenn. We could hear walkers somewhere in the building as we walked through, in the dark, trying to find any sign of life.

The moment a walker moved around a corner, I stepped forward, grabbing it and pushing my knife through its skull, killing it. Another moved around the corner, Glenn reacting just as quickly.

Stepping up to a window looking into an office, I looked in, seeing nothing. But the sound of something in there had both Glenn and me moving into the room.

A guy was hiding in the corner, blocked by a filing cabinet and chair. I reached forward, helping him out.

"Come on. We're with Jesus, let's go." Glenn told him, gun raised at the guy just in case.

He shook his head. "I can't go with you. I'm looking for my friend. He's close and he's hurt from the crash.

Leaving the room, Glenn stayed behind, watching the guy, as I took the front, moving through the building, trying to find the guy's friend or anyone else.

Sure enough, as we turned a corner we found Abraham holding a guy against a wall, hand around the stranger's throat. He must have thought it was a walker. But he'd realized it wasn't before he'd killed the guy.

"Come on, man, let's go." I called. "Come on."

The others appeared, all of us moving to the exit, wanting to get ut of here.

**VPOV**

Maggie and I sat in the back room of the RV watching one of the guys as he went through his bag, checking all the medicines they'd found.

As he started to pack them away he looked up at us. "Name's Harlan, by the way."

"Maggie. This is my friend, Vickie. That's my husband, Glenn." she gestured to where Glenn stood in the short hall of the RV.

"We're bringing back medication, so, you may have saved more people than just us back there, Glenn." Harlan smiled politely.

Glenn shifted on his feet. "You're a doctor?"

Harlan gave a short nod. "Yeah, that's right."

"You have any prenatal vitamins in there?" Glenn pointed to the bag.

Harlan grinned, turning to Maggie. "For you?" when she nodded he went on. "Well, I was an obstetrician before and I most definitely owe you. So, I'd say you two just hit the jackpot."

Shifting on the spot, wanting to ask if he had anything for me, I thought twice about it before getting up and moving to leave. As much as I wanted to say something, Daryl and I hadn't really agreed to let people know we were trying for a baby, so for now, I'd keep quiet.

"Excuse me." I muttered to Glenn, who moved out of the way and let me through.

As I made my way toward Daryl- who was sitting in the same spot as before, I overheard Jesus talking to the guy he was next to. The guy had been hurt from the car accident.

"You okay, Freddie?" Jesus asked.

Freddie- the injured guy- turned to him. "For a second back there, just when I thought he was gonna..." he looked to Abraham. I wasn't sure what had happened, but it looked like it shook Freddie up. "I saw my wife. She died before all this. Just when I thought it was over, there she was." he started crying, but he wasn't sad. In fact, he laughed. "Clear as day."

I moved to sit next to Daryl, as close as possible so Jesus' other friends still had space to sit. His arm wrapped around me, pulling me close. I guess it was a reflex. We were always drawn to each other, like magnets.

Suddenly the car came to a stop. Dad tried to move us forward, but by the feel of things, we were stuck. Yet he kept trying, revving the motor, spinning the wheels.

"Damn it." dad sighed. "A storm must've passed through. We're stuck."

Jesus stood and looked out the window. "No worries. We're here."

One by one we stepped out of the RV, following Jesus as he came to stand in front of the vehicle, looking straight ahead at the tall wooden walls not too far from where we stood.

"That's us." he nodded. "That's the Hilltop."

**DPOV**

Moving towards the gates, I slipped my hand into Vic's. Most of the time, when we were outside the gates of our community, we tried not to get too close. We'd learnt that people used weakness to hurt you. Vic was my weakness. I was hers.

"Stop right there." someone called out.

In an instant, all our people had their guns ready and aimed at the two men standing guard at the top of the wall by the gate, spears in their hands.

Jesus spun around, raising his hands to stop us from shooting. "Whoa."

I ignored him, looking up at the guys. "You gonna make us?"

"Jesus, what the hell is this?" one asked.

"Open the gates, Kal. Freddie's hurt." Jesus told him and then turned back to the rest of us. "Look, sorry about these guys. They get antsy standing up there all day doing nothing."

"They give up the weapons, then we'll open the gates." the one named Kal wasn't giving in.

"Why don't you come down here and get 'em?" I warned.

The doctor we'd found stepped forward. "Gentlemen, look, we vouch for these people, all right? They saved us out there. Lower the spears."

When no one moved, Rick stepped closer to Jesus. "Look, I'm not taking any chances. Tell your guy Gregory to come out here."

Jesus shook his head. "No. Don't you see what just happened. I'm letting you keep your guns. Look, we ran out of ammo months ago. I like you people. I trust you. Trust us."

We were all waiting for Rick to give as a signal. But what we were expecting was for Vic to respond first.

"Okay." she nodded her head before signalling for us to lower our weapons.

I looked to Rick, who looked from his daughter, to me, and then back. Just like that, he lowered his gun, and one by one we followed.

With that, Jesus turned back to the guards. "Open the gates, Kal."

The large gates opened, all of us moving forward. I stayed back for a moment, watching Vic as she started forward first, right behind Jesus. I'm not entirely sure what just happened, but it felt like Vic had just given an order.

That wasn't odd. She done it a few times before, we all did. But not in a situation like this. Rick always lead us...

Looking around the place I felt like we'd gone back in time. Right before electricity was even invented. There were farms, and stalls and what looked like a blacksmith. Most things were made with logs and wood. It felt... old.

"There was a materials yard for a power company nearby." Jesus explained. "That's how we put up the walls. A lot of people came from a FEMA camp. Trailers came with them." he gestured to the row of trailers at the back of community.

"How did people find out about this place?" Michonne asked.

Jesus gestured to the large building in the middle of the whole place. "That's called Barrington House. The family that owned it gave it to the state in the '30s. The state turned it into a living history museum. Every elementary school for fifty miles used to come here for field trips.

"The place was running a long time before the modern world built up around it. I think people came here because they figured it's keep running after the modern world broke down." he shrugged before pointing up at the roof. "Those windows up there let us see for miles in every direction. It's perfect for security." he turned back to us then. "Come on. I'll show you inside."

Once again, I watched as Vic stepped forward first, following Jesus. It was odd, but I could see she was still prepared for anything. That helped ease my tension.

Following the others, we walked behind Jesus as he led us towards the huge house.

**RPOV**

We walked into the main foyer of the Barrington House. Jesus held the door as we filed in. Vickie was first, closely followed by myself and then the others.

Taking in the place I felt like I was in an eighteenth-century mansion. This place looked like it hadn't aged a day since the moment it was built. It was refreshing considering we still lived in a modern community.

"Good gracious Ignatius." Abraham said, taking in the place.

I wasn't sure what it meant but I could see everyone else was feeling just as surprised and awed as I was.

"Most of the rooms have been converted to living spaces." Jesus started. "Even the ones that weren't bedrooms."

"People live here and the trailers?" I asked.

He nodded. "We plan to build. There's babies being born." I wasn't entirely sure, but when he said that last part, I swear I saw him look over at Vickie, he wasn't too far from me...

Before I could say anything, two doors behind Daryl opened.

An older man stepped out. "Jesus. You're back." he noted before looking at the rest of us. "With guests."

"Everyone, this is Gregory." Jesus introduced. "He keeps the trains running on time around here."

"I'm the boss." Gregory exclaimed with a slight grin.

Nodding, I stepped forward. "Well, I'm Rick, we have a community-"

Gregory cut me off before I could finish. "Why don't y'all go get cleaned up, hmm?"

"We're fine." I told him, trying to keep my cool. The last thing we needed was for me to start something with this community's leader.

But Gregory didn't care. Stepping closer to me, he spoke. "Jesus will show you where you can get washed up, then come ack down here where you're ready. It's hard to keep this place clean." he said, right in my face.

I was just about to snap. To say something I would probably regret later.

That's when I felt a hand rest on my arm. "He's right." I looked over, seeing Vickie smiling at Gregory sweetly- and falsely. "I know I'd love to get cleaned up, at least."

Sighing, seeing my daughter being the bigger person, I took her lead. "Yeah, sure." I agreed, turning to look at Jesus.

Jesus gave a short nod. "Follow me."

As we followed him up the stairs, I looked over my shoulder at Vickie and Maggie who were right behind me. "You two clean up first, then go talk to him."

"Why?" Maggie asked.

"I shouldn't." I shook my head. "And you got to start doing these things." I noted.

**  
**

**Chapter 15**

**Taking Charge, But No Bullshit**

**DPOV**

I'd gone up with Vic and stayed with her while she explained to me that she and Maggie were going to talk to Gregory. But I hadn't cleaning up or anything. I didn't feel the need.

She'd also explained why she'd taken charge suddenly. Vic knew how her dad could be. She knew what he could and would do if his buttons were pressed in the wrong way. So she felt like it might be best if she pushed him to the side for a moment and stepped up to be the lead Deanna had wanted her to be.

It made enough sense, at least to me, which is why I'd let her go join Maggie while I waited down in the foyer for the two to finish with Gregory- who I'd already decided was an asshole.

Walking towards one of the front windows, I hadn't even realized Abraham was done here as well until he spoke.

"How long do you think Rick and Michonne been ugging bumplies?" he asked with a little grin.

Turning to him, I shrugged. "I don't know." it was true. I spent most of my time with Rick, and he'd never said anything. As far as I knew Vic didn't know either.

Standing from the chair he'd been on, he moved closer to me. "You and Vickie ever think about it? Really settling down? Doing what Maggie and Glenn are doin'? You ever think about havin' a pup?"

I didn't answer right away because Vic and I hadn't said anything to anyone about us trying to have a baby. I was beginning to wonder if we should. At least it might help keep her out of danger... But without really talking about it with her, I knew I shouldn't say anything.

Shaking my head, I lied. "Nah. We ain't ever talked about it." I told him before turning around and walking off. I'd wait for Vic somewhere else.

**MPOV**

I knocked lightly on the wooden door in front of me before opening it and stepping inside, Vickie right behind me. Gregory sat behind a wooden desk, turning to us as we stepped inside, a smile on his face.

"Gregory." I nodded.

"Natalie and Vivien, right?"

"Maggie and Victoria." I corrected.

He shrugged. "That's pretty close."

I shook my head, a polite smile tugging on my lips. "Not really."

He laughed getting up from his chair. "She calls them like she sees them. I like that. Come in, let's chat." he gestured for us to move ahead as he reached to close the door.

I looked over my shoulder at Vickie, who gave a short nod. Both of us moved forward, closer to the fireplace. Above it was a painting. I could tell it was old as I looked up at it, my eyes falling on the horse. It reminded me of one of the horses we'd had when I was growing up...

"Yeah. I came to this place once before, when it was a museum. With some Chamber of Commerce thing." Gregory started, moving to join us. "Love that painting." he gestured to the one Vickie and I were looking at. "I never figured it'd be mine, here it is. It's like it was waiting for me the whole time." he turned to us.

Looking away from the painting, I smiled sweetly at him. "Hmm."

I'm not an idiot, and neither is Vickie. It was obvious that Gregory was flirting with us, not that I was surprised. He seemed like the kind of guy that was used to getting his way, and what he wanted, no matter what it was. Unfortunately for him, Vickie and I didn't play that way.

Turning around, he moved to the couch, sitting in the middle, clearly leaving space for both Vickie and I to sit on either side of him. Instead we chose to sit on the two chairs opposite the lounge.

Moving on, Gregory began to talk. "Jesus told me your group saved Dr Carson. Obviously, a doctor's a rare commodity today, so I want to thank you for bringing ours back."

Vickie gave a short nod. "Our husbands saved him."

It had taken everyone some time to figure out Daryl had given Vickie a ring. They hadn't flaunted it or anything- they weren't like that- and they never really talked about what kind of relationship they had. So hearing her say husband let me know right away that she was sending Gregory a message to back off.

"I'll be sure to thank them, too." Gregory offered.

With that, I got to business. "This place, what you have here, has been here since the start?"

"That's right."

"And how..." I smiled lightly. "How is it... How have you survived here?" it wasn't an odd question. Our group had been in many communities before we finally found Alexandria.

He shrugged. "You're looking at how. I'm good at this. And I don't get hung up on the details." it wasn't an answer, but it's all he was giving before he went on. "Where you live, is it as nice as the Hilltop Colony?"

"It's just different." I told him.

"How do you feed everyone? Jesus aid you had land for gardens, but no crops."

"We just started planting." I explained.

"Planting what?"

"Cucumbers, tomatoes."

He shook his head. "No, crops. Soy, corn, hemp, sorghum."

"Garden stuff."

"But you have guns, so I assume you have a decent weapons cache."

"It's decent."

"And your infirmary, is it stocked?" he seemed to be getting a lot of information from us, it was time to turn the table.

"Is yours?" I asked. "We came here hoping to talk trade. Do you have enough here for that?"

He grinned cockily. "You see what I have here. You see what I've built. Jesus said that your food situation was challenged right now. You don't keep people fed, it comes apart. Let's speak the common tongue here, huh?" he leaned forward. "You don't have shit. Now, I'm happy to help. I'm a nice guy. But we can't just give things away for free. How's this? Since you can't offer much, I'll let your people work here for their share. You'd both be welcome additions to the community." he looked from Vickie to me. "Two smart and beautiful women. Getting back to that common tongue... I can tell ya, I can make it worth your while."

I leaned forward. "Let me stop you right there."

But he just went on. "Listen, honey-"

Vickie- who had been quite for some time now- cut him off. "Gregory, cut the bullshit. Stop coming on to us. Stop flirting. Just stop." he looked to her, a little surprised. "You don't have shit, either. Yeah, you have food. Yeah, you have  _some_  medicine. But let's face it, having food means nothing if you don't have protection. Without ammo, you're not worth much."

He leaned back. "Who said we don't have ammo?"

Ignoring his question, Vickie went on. "So let's speak the common tongue. We can help each other, if that's what you want."

But he just wouldn't give in. "What, are you gonna give us a bottle of aspirin and a box of bullets?" shaking his head, he got to his feet. "Thank you, Vivien, Natalie. Been a good talk." he said before moving towards his desk again.

I was up on my feet right away, following him. "We can help each other." I insisted.

"We're doing fine." he told me. "Are you?"

I could hear Vickie get up and move to me. "Come on." she spoke to me as she stood at the end on his desk, her back to Gregory. "He's just wasting our time."

After thinking it over for a moment, I nodded. "You're right." with that, we both turned for the door and left.

**VPOV**

I stood with Daryl behind dad, Glenn, Maggie, Abraham and Michonne off to the side. Maggie and I had told everyone what had gone down in Gregory's office, letting them know he wasn't interested in anything we had to offer. It was a lie, he'd shown not so subtle interest in Maggie and myself, but there was no need to tell everyone else that- especially Glenn and Daryl.

Once we told them everything, dad had sought Jesus out, needing proper answers.

"We want to generate trade, Gregory does." Jesus started. "But ammo isn't something we urgently need."

Dad shrugged. "Well, how's that?"

"The walls hold. We just brought in more medicine. Gregory wants the best deal possible."

Daryl, who hadn't stopped moving, stepped forward. "Yeah, well, we want things, too."

"We need food." dad noted. "We came all this way, we're gonna get it."

"I will talk to him and we will work this out." Jesus insisted. "Circumstances change. We're doing well now, and you will next. I will make him understand that. Can you give me a few days?"

Before anyone could say or do anything, I nodded, stepping up to stand in front of our group. "We can. But if you can't get Gregory to change his mind, we will."

Jesus looked at me, standing his ground as I stood mine.

When we were outside the walls of the Hilltop I'd made my mind up pretty quickly. I'd watched Jesus and the other's we brought back, and I decided to trust them- to a point. When I decided that, I also chose to step up and take charge. Dad wasn't exactly good with people, Maggie could be a little soft sometimes, and no one else was willing to do it, so I would.

Keeping our people's wants and needs in mind, I refused to show any sign of weakness. That's why I was hard on Gregory. That's why I was making threats now.

The front door of the building opened before Jesus could respond. One of the guys we'd brought back walked in, not looking very happy.

Right then, Gregory stepped out of his office. "What's wrong?"

They guy who'd just walked in came to a stop, looking at his leader. "They're back."

Gregory moved first, walking towards the front door with Jesus right behind him. I looked to dad, who nodded, before our group followed the others. We stayed back, watching Gregory and Jesus as they moved down the stairs and on to the dirt path, heading towards three people walking this way.

"Ethan, what happened to everybody else?" Gregory asked. "Where's Tim and Marsha?"

The guy walking in front of the group- Ethan- answered. "They're dead."

Gregory looked to the three people. "Negan?"

"Yeah." Ethan nodded.

Gregory was confused. "We had a deal."

"He said it wasn't enough." the other guy in the group spoke. "Was the drop light?"

"No." Gregory insisted.

"They still have Craig." the woman of the group told him.

"They said they'd keep him alive, return him to us, if I delivered a message to you." Ethan stepped up to Gregory.

"So, tell me."

Ethan rested a hand on Gregory's shoulder. "I'm sorry." then, moving quickly, he stabbed the older man.

That's when our people took action.

Dad and Michonne pulled Ethan away while Glenn, Maggie and Jesus helped Gregory down to the ground gently. Daryl, Abraham and myself got out our guns, ready to fight.

"Get off of me!" Ethan struggled against dad and Michonne. "I had to!" he pushed Michonne away and to the floor before moving to hit dad.

But dad was too fast and managed to knee Ethan to the ground. Once he was down, dad knelt over him, bringing his fist down on to Ethan's face, punching him over and over.

The other guy in Ethan's group moved to dad, grabbing him and pulling him off. But seeing my dad in danger, I rushed over, throwing my body on to the other guy, getting him off the ground and giving dad the chance to go back to Ethan.

The guy I was struggling with didn't seem to care I was a woman. Our struggling turned into a fight pretty quickly. We were kicking, punching, pushing and shoving all over the place, trying to get the upper hand. Anger was fuelling him, while I just relied on my skills and experience. Unfortunately I didn't notice the ditch in the ground.

As my foot landed, I rolled my ankle and fell. It dawned on me then that this guy could win...

Suddenly someone barged into the guy, knocking him to the ground. Looking over, I saw Abraham as he started to fight and struggle with the guy.

Daryl moved over to me. "You okay?" he asked, reaching forward, offering me a hand before helping me to my feet.

I nodded. "Fine. Help Abraham."

Not needing to be told twice, Daryl moved over and grabbed the guy who was on top of- and choking- Abraham. Daryl grabbed the guy's arm and broke it before pushing him away from Abe.

Reaching down to grab my gun off the ground where I'd dropped it, I instantly aimed it at Ethan, who was kneeling over my dad, a knife to his throat.

"Hey! Stay back!" Ethan warned. "Anybody who tries to stop me is killing my brother!"

Ethan didn't see her coming, but Michonne stepped up to him, hand on sword, ready. "Drop it."

Ethan looked up at her and that was enough to give dad his chance. I have no idea what he had in his hand, but whatever it was, dad used it to stab Ethan in the neck, causing blood to pour out of the wound and on to dad, killing Ethan.

Tossing the body aside, dad got to his feet, looking around as all the Hilltop people watched him. "What?" he shrugged.

"Ethan!" the other guy in the small group called, but didn't move as Daryl had his gun aimed at him. "You killed him."

"He tried to kill Gregory, then me." dad noted as if it was that simple.

The woman of the group stepped forward and swung her fist, hitting dad right in the face.

Michonne acted quickly, moving to the woman and shoving her to the ground. "Don't." she warned.

With all the commotion, the guards had come down from their posts. "Drop it now." one of the guards ordered, seeing us with our weapons aimed at his friends.

Dad shook his head, his gun now raised seeing as the guards had their spears aimed at us. "I don't think I will."

Jesus rushed into the middle of the gathering crowd. "Everyone, this is over! It's over. Ethan was our friend. But let's not pretend he was anything more than a coward, who attacked us. He did this. And these people stopped him."

When Jesus turned to him, dad nodded. "What can I do?"

"Put the gun away." Jesus told him. "You've done enough."

Just like that, dad lowered his gun, the rest of us following suit.

With that, Jesus turned to our people. "You need to know that things aren't as simple as they might seem. Just give me some time."

"Okay." I nodded, agreeing, looking around. "We'll be inside." I gestured to the house.

Seeing the scared looks on everyone's faces I had a feeling they'd like it best if they couldn't see us, if we disappeared. So going inside, away from the people, felt like our best option if we were to wait here. If they didn't want us here at all, well I guess we'd just leave. But these people needed us. Not in the way we'd thought and they realized, but I could see it now.

**DPOV**

"That name." Abraham started, taking a seat in the large room we'd gather in. "Negan. Daryl, Sasha and I, we've heard it before."

Rick turned to him. "When?"

"Back on the road when we were headin' home after leading the herd away. We came across a group of guys on bikes, blocking the road. Wanted all our stuff." Abraham answered.

Vic looked up at me, frowning, confused.

Neither of us had told each other what had happened while we'd been apart then. I hadn't told her about the people in the forest or the men on the bikes. She hadn't told me about what went down at home.

We usually told each other everything, but we'd pushed it all aside and moved on right away. I didn't want to tell her, and I guess she felt the same way. After we'd talked about making a baby it set it all in stone. As far as I was concerned, what happened in the past, could stay there.

But as Abraham went on, I could see Vic silently asking me why I'd never said anything.

"Head honcho wanted us to take them back to Alexandria. Told us everything we had belonged to Negan. When I questioned him, he threatened to kill both Sasha and myself. Daryl used the RPG, blew them to pieces."

As everyone took in the new information, I watched Vic. She'd turned away to look at the ground as if she was thinking something through. No one said anything else. The room fell silent as we waited for Jesus or someone else to come give us some news, I couldn't stop wondering what she might be thinking about.

Stepping closer to her, I spoke quietly so only she could hear. "What are you thinkin'?"

She shrugged, speaking just as low. "Jesus said it himself, they don't have fighters. We do. We're all fighters. They need Negan gone. We need food. Maybe we should do it. Maybe we should get rid of Negan."

The doors opened as Jesus walked in. "Dr Carson was able to patch Gregory up. He's in pain, but he'll live."

"So, what happens now?" Michonne asked.

"Things like that don't usually happen here, but, uh, it's settled." Jesus shrugged.

"We heard the name 'Negan'." Rick stepped forward. "A while back, Daryl and Abraham had a run-in with his men. Who is he?"

"Negan's the head of a group of people he calls the Saviours. As soon as the walls were built the Saviours showed up. They met with Gregory on behalf of their boss. They made a lot of demands, even more threats. And they killed one of us." this got all our attention as Jesus went on. "Rory. He was sixteen years old. They beat him to death right in front of us. Said we need to understand, 'right off the bat'. Gregory's not exactly good at confrontation. He's not the leader I would've chosen, but he helped make this place what it is, and the people like him."

"He made the deal." Maggie finished, reading into what Jesus wasn't saying.

Jesus nodded. "Half of everything. Our supplies, our crops, our livestock, it goes to the Saviours."

"And what do you get in return?" Glenn asked.

"They don't attack this place. " Jesus answered simply. "They don't kill us."

"Why not just kill them?" I asked. I'd heard what Vic said, but I need to hear him say it.

Jesus scoffed lightly. "Most of the people here don't even know how to fight, even if we had ammo."

"Well, how many people does Negan have?" Rick seemed to be coming to the same conclusion that Vic had.

"We don't know." Jesus shrugged. "We've seen groups as big as twenty."

I shook my head. "Now, hold up. So, they show up, they kill a kid, and you give them  _half_  of everything? These dicks just got a good story. The bogeyman, he ain't shit."

"Well, how do you know?" Jesus didn't seem too sure.

"A couple months ago, we took his guys out PDQ." Abraham told him. "Left them in pieces and puddles."

"Yeah, we'll do it." I nodded. "If we go get your man back, kill Negan, take out his boys, will you hook us up? We won't food, medicine and one of them cows." I gestured to the window facing their farm animals.

Jesus looked to Rick, who shrugged. "Confrontation's never been something we've had trouble with."

"You set it up and we'll play it through." Vic stepped forward to stand next to me. "You saw what happened outside, and we weren't even prepared for that."

Jesus looked from Vic, to Rick and then back, before giving a short nod. "I'll take it to Gregory." he said before turning and leaving the room.

**VPOV**

We stood on a balcony, looking down at the crowd of people gathered around the burning pile of wood, and Ethan's body which was set on top.

After hearing Abraham, and Jesus, and seeing everything Hilltop had, dad could see what I saw. These people were weak, and they needed protection. We were strong, and needed food. It just made too much sense not to make the deal we'd just made with Jesus.

"They have food, we don't." dad started, trying to explain the situation to the others. "We don't have enough of anything. Except us. What we can do." he turned to the rest of us. "This is the trade."

"It's gonna cost us something." Maggie noted, not liking the plan but not disagreeing with it either.

I'm not saying I enjoyed killing people, none of us did. If someone did, I'd be extremely worried and cautious when dealing with them. But over the years it had become clear. If you want to survive, you have to fight. If you decide to fight, you have to be willing to go all the way. If you don't go all the way, you end up dead.

Fighting for the people I loved, for the community and for our benefit made it okay with me. I'd been through the steps enough times to make myself numb enough to push through and do it again. So if we had to kill, I would do it, no questions asked.

The doors to the balcony opened before Jesus stepped out and joined us. "Gregory's up, he wants to talk." but when dad stepped forward, he stopped him. "To Maggie and Victoria. He wants to talk to Maggie and Victoria."

Maggie and I locked eyes. It was clear she didn't want to deal with Gregory again. But I simply gave her a look of determination, hoping she could see I was there for her.

Glenn turned to his wife. "You got this."

I nodded, moving to stand next to her. "We do."

Looking from me to Maggie, dad stepped forward. "Deanna was right about the two of you." he told us as he rested a hand on my shoulder. His eyes turned to me and I felt his pride give me a little more confidence.

Not needing anything else said, both Maggie and I turned to follow Jesus. As we walked, my eyes landed on Daryl, who was watching me carefully like he always was. I knew he'd be waiting for us to finish with this talk, ready to get out of here as soon as possible. It was clear he didn't exactly like this place too much.

"I'm sorry in advance, Gregory can be a real prick." Jesus told us.

"We know." Maggie noted as we disappeared into the house.

 

...

 

"Come in." Gregory called from inside the room.

Maggie opened the door and stepped inside first before I followed, shutting the door behind me. The room was dimly lit. The curtains drawn back over the windows, blocking out most of the natural light. The two lamps on either side of the bed provided a little more light which was softer and easier on the eyes. It gave an air to the room, making the place seem even older... and Gregory like an even bigger creep for some reason.

"Sorry for the gloom." he started. "They have me on these antibiotics that make me sensitive to the sunlight." he went on as we moved to stand at the end of his bed. "This is agony. It's like somebody's twisting my intestines with a cement mixer."

"It could have been worse. You're lucky we were here." Maggie noted. "Jesus told you about our offer?"

Gregory gave a short and weak nod. "He did. What makes you think you can do what we haven't done?"

"We've handled people like Negan." Maggie told him.

"How?"

I pulled out my knife, using it to catch the light of the lamps, looking down at the blade without a care. "They're dead." I shrugged.

Gregory turned to me, seeming both amused and a little scared. But he didn't say anything. He knew better than that.

Maggie went on. "We can get your man back."

"I don't know if Craig's worth the trouble. I mean, it's his brother who did this."

Maggie folded her arms over her chest, getting defensive. "He was fighting to save someone he loves. He was afraid."

"That makes him weak. Frankly, I don't know if I want him back in our gene pool."

"My dad used to tell me forgiveness takes more strength than anger." Maggie was big on family, we all were.

Gregory didn't seem to care. "Well, yeah, I guess. He's a hell of a cook. He makes these amazing baked eggs with green tomatoes."

Not interested in what he had to say, Maggie got to business. "You give us supplies. We'll save Craig and take care of Negan and the Saviours, permanently." she offered.

Gregory laughed. "I'm sorry, I find this whole conversation pretty funny. I mean, you baulked when I proposed that your people work for our supplies, but now... Isn't that exactly what's happening here? See, I had leverage and I used it. See, it wasn't personal."

"Yes. We need food, you have it." Maggie admitted. "We're willing to work for it."

"Then I'll get supplies for your people."

"Good." Maggie gave a short nod.

"I'll talk to Jesus and he'll make the arrangements." Gregory grinned. "See, this was fun. Exciting."

I stepped forward, a grin on my own lips. "Half."

Gregory watched as I stood right at the foot of his bed. "Excuse me?"

Maggie stood next to me. "Half of what you have."

"Right now." I added.

Maggie nodded. "We saw what happened out there. We heard what Ethan said. The Saviours' are expecting more. Soon enough, you'll have nothing. What happens then? Without ammo, without fighters... You'd be a dead man. So half of everything you have, right now, or the deal's off." a light smile played on her lips. "You see? We have leverage."

Gregory lifted his hands, applauding us softly. "Congratulations. You have yourself a deal."

Grin still firmly in place, I kept my eyes on the old man. "Now wasn't this fun? Exciting?"

"Do you want anything else?" he asked, amusement gone from his tone. "Kidney, maybe?"

"Not that." Maggie shook her head. "But I do want something."

**RPOV**

Michonne, Jesus and I were putting the supplies in the RV. Maggie, Glenn and Vickie were somewhere else, while Abraham and Daryl went to get the other guy that had been with Ethan.

"Even Negan didn't get this much up front." Jesus told me as we passed each other.

Seeing Daryl and Abraham leading the guy towards me, I came to a stop and turned to him.

"What?" he was clearly not happy. I didn't blame him though.

"Jesus said you've been taking supplies to Negan since the beginning. We're gonna get Craig back." I told him.

"The only way to get Craig back is to bring them Gregory's head." he noted.

I nodded. "We're gonna get Craig back."

"How?"

"We need to know what you know about Negan's compound. We need your help. We need you to come."

It took a moment. He looked around at first, looking at his people and then at ours before finally turning back to me and nodded. "Yeah. Okay." was all he said before he walked off.

Daryl stepped up to me before I could move. "Where's Vic?"

"I don't know." I answered honestly before moving to go grab a basket of supplies and take it to the RV.

Jesus walked beside me, carrying the last of the supplies. "You got room for one more, right? I mean, we're talking about righting the world here. Plus, you still have my knives." he added as he stepped in to the RV not really giving me a choice.

Michonne stood by the door waiting, so I moved to her. "Hey, you up for this?"

"It's gonna be a fight." she noted.

"We'll win." I told her. "We have to."

She nodded. "We'll win."

**VPOV**

Once Maggie and Glenn were done with the doctor, I'd slipped past them and into his trailer. It was silly, I know. I could have told them, I mean they're my best friends. But I had this gut feeling something was up, and I needed to talk to a professional before I decided to do anything else.

"Hello?" I called out.

Harlan poked his head around the corner, looking surprised to see me. "Victoria, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, uh... Call me Vickie."

"Okay." he walked around coming to stand in front of me. "So what can I do for you, Vickie?"

Nerves bubbled inside me. I found my eyes looking everywhere but at him as my fingers began to fidget with the hem of my shirt. "I was wondering if you could, uh... Could you have a look at my, um... I wanna know-"

Stopping me from making a bigger fool of myself, Harlan gave a small smile. "I know the worlds turned upside down, but that doesn't change a doctor's ethic's. If you need to tell me something, I'm bound by confidentiality."

Hearing him say that made me feel a little better, even though I knew there wasn't anything stopping him from telling people stuff anyway. But still, I found my words flowing a little easier now. "My husband and I are trying to have a baby, but I don't know if everything's okay... You know... Down there."

"Ah." he nodded, seeming to understand. "Well, is there any reason why you think there may be something wrong?"

"Yeah, um... I've been through a lot. Physically. I've done so much damage to my body, I just don't know what's working right and what's not, anymore." I shrugged.

"Okay. It's hard to figure these things out for sure these days, but hopefully an ultrasound will tell us something. I'll at least be able to see what we're working with."

The nerves began to bubble again but I found myself nodding. "Okay."

"Great." he smiled kindly. "Why don't you follow me?"

 

...

 

" _I'm sorry._ " Harlan's voice rang in my head as I leaned against Daryl, his arm around my shoulder. " _I'm not saying it's impossible. But it is very unlikely that your body will be able to hold a baby... I'm so sorry._ "

Everyone had been wondering where I'd been while they were stocking the RV full of supplies. I'd lied, telling them I was in the bathroom, checking to make sure I hadn't been hurt in the fight. I hadn't even told Daryl the truth.

Now that I knew the chances of me getting pregnant were extremely low- like I had a better chance at randomly making a cure to kill all walkers- I felt as if I'd let him down. He'd been the one to say the words. He'd been the one to say he wanted a child. So the fact we might not be able to, and it was because of me, had my heart ache.

Sitting across from me, I watched as Glenn handed Michonne the ultrasound photo of his and Maggie's baby. He didn't say anything He just gave a small smile. Michonne smiled as well as she looked down at the picture, hope growing in her eyes. When she was done she looked up at Daryl and myself and handed the picture over.

Daryl took it, holding it so we could both see the tiny figure that was currently growing inside my best friend. His arm pulled me tighter as he pressed his lips to the top of my head.

It was too much. Seeing the tiny soon-to-be baby. My heart ached even more, which made me feel guilty, which just had me hurting deeper.

But I fought through the pain and looked up at my best friends. Glenn smiled at me and seeing him this happy healed my heart enough for me to smile back at him.

 

**Chapter 16**

**Make With the Nice**

**RPOV**

I drove through the gates, driving around a few corners and coming to a stop as Aaron and Sasha appeared. Rolling down my window, I spoke them. "Get Olivia. She should inventory what we have. We'll meet her at the pantry." I told the as a few of the others got out of the vehicle while it was stopped.

"You have food?" Sasha asked as Aaron went to get Olivia.

"Yeah." Michonne was one of the people who'd gotten out of the RV. She stepped up to Sasha. "Enough for another month."

"I need everybody in the church in an hour." I spoke as more people showed up beside the RV.

Sasha looked from Michonne, to me. "What is it?"

"We'll talk about it." I nodded, starting the engine again.

They all walked off then, except Carol who stopped me. "Rick, what's going on?"

I hadn't told the others because I wasn't sure how they'd all react. But I knew Carol would understand. "We're gonna have to fight." I told her before finally driving off.

**VPOV**

As I got out of the RV, Abraham, Daryl and Glenn behind me, I was almost pushed to the ground as a set of arms wrapped around my legs.

I smiled down at Aly, my hand resting on her head as she held me tight. "Hey, there."

She looked up at me. "You're back."

"What'd I tell you?" Abraham stepped up to us.

Aly looked up at him, standing straight and tall. She kind of looked like a mini soldier. It was pretty cute. "You said you wouldn't let anything hurt her."

"That's right, Squirt." Abraham grinned, reaching down to pick the little girl up. She giggled loudly as he put her on his shoulders.

I smiled at the two of them as Abraham rushed around , spinning and jumping up and down. Aly was having the time of her life.

"Here." Jesus' voice pulled my attention to him. I turned seeing him offering a basket of food which I took.

"What you got, mummy?" Aly asked, watching as Glenn, Daryl, Jesus, dad and the other guy from The Hilltop brought out more food.

"We got food, little lady." Abraham told her. "We got fruit and vegetables and bread and so much beans you'll be growin' like a beanstalk. I bet you'll be touching the sky in no time."

Aly smiled widely. "Will I be as tall as you then?"

"I bet." he nodded, putting her on the ground. "Why don't you go get that dog of yours and then we'll see if we can round up some treats?"

"Okay." the smile on Aly's face was still firmly in place as she rushed off.

Still carrying the basket I stepped up to Abraham, the two of us watching her go. "I didn't realize you were so good with kids." I noted.

"Took me awhile, but I got my shit together." he shrugged. "She reminds me of my daughter."

I looked to him, shocked. Abraham and I had never really been close. We'd worked together, did things together, lived together. We were family like everyone else in our group- even Gabriel was family. But Abraham and I had never really had one on one time.

Hearing him open up to me like that, well it was nice. I always liked to get to know everyone. Time's too short to miss the opportunity to make new friends.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what it's like to lose a child, but I know what it's like to lose family. And so, I'm sorry."

He nodded. "Just make sure that little girl keeps smilin'. She's a little spitfire that one." he told me before moving to help the others again.

**DPOV**

We'd gathered in the church so Rick could explain the situation to everyone. Carol, Tara, Denise, Maggie, Glenn, Abraham, Sasha, Rosita, Spencer, Eugene, Gabriel, Aaron, Eric, Morgan, Tobin, Michonne, others. We sat in the seats as we looked to the front where Jesus and his friend sat behind Rick and Vic.

Rick had come up to Vic when we'd been taking care of the food. He'd explained that he wanted her to stand with him, to tell everyone what we had to do. He knew they'd listen to her. They looked up to her and they trusted her.

"We can work with the Hilltop." Rick explained, looking to everyone gathered in the church. "Maggie and Vickie hammered out a deal. We're getting food. Eggs, butter, fresh vegetables. But they're not just giving it away."

Vickie nodded. "They're not like us. They can't defend themselves the way we can. And they need defending. There are people threatening their community. Stealing food, killing people. And these enemies... These  _Saviours_ , are looking for more communities to control."

"The Saviours, they almost killed Sasha, Daryl and Abraham on the road." Rick noted, to express how serious the situation was. "Now, sooner or later, they would've found us, just like those Wolves did, just like Jesus did. They would have killed one or some of us. And then they would try to own us. And we would try to stop them."

"We'd fight. I know we would. No one would back down, I don't have any doubt there." Vickie looked to each of us. "But we could lose. With no food, in a fight like that, we wouldn't have the strength and energy." she shook her head. "I know this is scary for some of you. But this is the only chance we have at winning."

"And we have to win." Rick was determined, and confident. "We do this for the Hilltop. It's how we keep this place. It's how we  _feed_ this place. This needs to be a group decision. If anybody objects, here's your chance to say your piece."

No one said anything at first. I didn't expect anyone to. But then Rick and Vic looked to someone at the back of the group, and all heads turned.

Morgan stood. "You're sure we can do it?" he took a breath before adding, "We can beat them?"

"What this group has done, what we've learned, what we've become, all of us." Rick nodded, not skipping a beat. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Then all we have to do is just tell them that." Morgan suggested. It was at that moment I though the guy was insane.

"They- they don't compromise." Rick pointed out.

"This isn't a compromise." Morgan argued. "It's a choice you give them. It's a way out, for them and for us."

"We try and talk to the Saviours we give up our advantage, our safety." Rick countered. "No, we have to come for them before they come for us. We can't leave them alive."

"Where there's life, there's possibility." Morgan wasn't letting up.

"They killed a sixteen-year-old boy." Vic stepped forward, all eyes turning to her again. "They walked into the Hilltop, chose someone and killed them right in front of everyone." she gestured to Jesus and his friend. "They saw it. They had to watch as these strangers walked into their home and killed one of their people." she gave a short shrug. "So yeah. Yeah, there's a possibility. There's a possibility that these people might change their ways. There's a possibility that they might become saints. But there's a bigger possibility that they'll come here and they will do to us, what they've done to every other community, settlement, and colony they've found."

When the place fell silent, everyone continued to watch Vic as she stood there, looking strong and fierce. When she'd first told me she was going to help lead, I'd been unsure. I didn't want her in any more risk than she already was in. But at that moment there, I was proud.

Rick looked from Morgan to Vic and then back. "They always come back, Morgan."

Morgan nodded. "Come back when they're dead, too."

"Yeah, we'll stop them. We have before." Rick shrugged.

"I'm not talking about the walkers." Morgan gave a knowing look. Only the few of us who'd killed the living understood that look...

"Morgan wants to talk to them first." Rick looked to the rest of us. "I think that would be a mistake, but it's not up to me. It's not up to us." he gestured to himself and Vic. "I'll talk to the people still at home. I'll discuss it with the people on guard now, too, but who else wants to approach the Saviours, talk to them first?"

Suddenly Aaron stood. "What happened here, we won't let that happen again.  _I_  won't." was all he had to say before he sat down again.

No one else said anything, the room was left in silence.

"Then it's settled." Vic noted, seeing as no one else was going to speak up.

Rick nodded. "We know exactly what this is. We don't shy from it, we live. We kill them all."

The tension in the room grew at the sound of that one word.  _Kill_. We'd all known what Vic and Rick were saying, but to actually hear it put into words, affected some of us more than others. There were still a large number of us who'd never had to kill, so I guess the idea was a little harder for them to take in.

"We don't all have to kill." Rick started again. "But people are gonna stay here. They do have to accept it." he said before walking off.

Everyone stayed where they were seated, unsure of what to do next as they all turned to Vic expectantly. She watched her dad leave, standing at the front of the group.

"I understand what you're all feeling. I know. I've been there. But you heard me back at the wall on Redding and Marshal. Everything wants to kill you." she looked at each and every one of us, not wavering as she went on. "I suggest you all decided whether or not you're willing to do whatever it takes. Because come tomorrow, were doing this." she glanced at Morgan as she added, "Whether everyone agrees or not.. Whether everyone likes it or not."

With nothing left to say, keeping her head held high, she turned to Jesus and his friend, gesturing for them to follow her before she headed for the door. I was up and by her side in an instant, knowing the other two were behind us, and the rest were still sitting.

**VPOV**

I was walking down the road, heading home, with Daryl by my side and Jesus and his friend behind us. After the meeting we'd just had, I needed a moment to myself. But I was sure dad would want Jesus and the other guy watched, so I wasn't letting them out of my sight.

"Mum!" Aly came rushing over with Houdini right behind her.

I smiled, feeling a little more relaxed as I bent down and picked my daughter off the ground. "Hey, sweetie. What's up?"

She showed me her camera. "I was looking for Abraham. I wanna take pictures with him." she told me sweetly.

"You wanna find Abraham, hey? Is he your new best friend or something?" I grinned.

She nodded. "He's funny and has orange hair. Orange is my favourite colour."

"Really?"

"Yep. Like the sky when the sun sets."

"Well then. I think Daryl might be able to help you find him. How's that sound?" I asked before looking to Daryl. "You don't mind, do you?" when he hesitated, looking from me to the others, I sighed. "I have my gun. I'll shoot them if they try anything."

"In the head." he told me as he reached over and grabbed Aly. "Don't stop until they're on the ground."

I smiled at him. "Of course." leaning over I gave him a quick kiss before stepping back. "Now hurry up. It's an early night tonight, and I need her showered before bed time."

"Yes, ma`am." Daryl grinned before he set off with Aly in his arms.

Houdini didn't follow though. The moment he'd noticed the newcomers he'd stuck himself in between us and them. He was always ready to protect us if the time came.

"She's your daughter?" Jesus asked as he and his friend watched Daryl and Aly go.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"How old is she?"

"About six or seven. It's hard to keep track these days."

"You look young to be her mother..." Jesus noted. When I snapped my head in his direction, he lifted his hands up in defence. "Please, forgive me for prying, but I couldn't see any resemblance... And her father..."

I sighed. "She's not my blood, but she's my daughter. Daryl and I took her in."

"And her other parents?"

"She's never talked about them."

It had been odd at first. I'd expected this little girl to constantly be talking about her loved ones and friends. I'd actually been really worried when she'd stayed silent. After weeks of having her with us, Aly had hardly said a word. But then she'd woken up in the middle of the night crying, and I let her sleep-in bed with me while Daryl was on guard. That's when she finally opened up.

Having Houdini around helped. She'd instantly connected with him. Once she let me in, she let everyone in. Suddenly it was like she'd always been around. We all loved and cared for her like she'd been part of the family since the beginning.

"Daryl's your husband." Jesus noted.

"I think that's pretty obvious." I grinned. "But yeah, he's my husband."

"He's also the guy that broke my hand." Jesus' friend mumbled.

I looked over at him, stepping closer. His eyes went wide with fear. "Look, I get that we killed one of your friends and dragged you into this fight. But trust me when I say this is going to benefit all of us. Negan and his assholes will be dealt with. You will get your man back." I assured him. "Without us you'll just continue to be the Saviours' bitch. So I suggest you cut the crap and make with the nice. Okay?"

The guy just stood there, eyes wide with fear as he looked from me to Jesus. I knew these people were used to dealing with assholes and douche-bags. But I wasn't sure if that meant they'd lost all trust in everyone else.

Slowly, he nodded. "Okay."

"Okay." I smiled, offering my hand. "My name is Vickie. What's yours?"

"Andy." he answered, shaking my hand, still clearly scared of me.

Once I let go of his hand, I turned to continue home. Both Andy and Jesus were close behind me, following. Houdini walked next to me, but I could tell he was still ready to attack if he needed to.

It didn't take long before Jesus stepped up to walk next to me. Houdini growled lightly, but I silenced him with a quick pat to the head.

"So how come he can call you Vickie and I can't?"

I shrugged. "Because you cut my face." I pointed to the healing wound on my cheek.

"You got in some good hits of your own." he noted.

I thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Fine, call me Vickie. Just don't hit me again. Or I'll kick your ass." I grinned at him.

"Don't worry." he smiled back at me. Then he leaned in closer and whispered. "I wouldn't dare get in a fight with a woman trying to have a baby, or who's already pregnant..."

My eyes quickly did a scan of the area before I looked over at Andy to make sure he didn't hear. When the coast was clear, I looked to Jesus. "No one knows Daryl and I are trying..."

"I thought not." he nodded. "You're secrets safe with me."

**RPOV**

Jesus, Andy- Jesus' friend-, Glenn, Maggie, Michonne, Daryl, Vickie and myself had gathered in apartment where the cell was. Until I learnt to trust Jesus and Andy, we were keeping them here over night. They had food, water and a place to sleep, but I didn't trust them roaming our community.

With everything happening tomorrow, we needed an idea of what we were dealing with. So I was having Andy tell us everything he could about the Saviours and their compound.

"Describe it." I told Andy as I placed a piece of paper and pen in front of him.

He began to draw a birds-eye-view sketch of the Saviours' place. "Rectangular building, big satellites on it."

"Any windows?" I asked.

"I don't remember any." he answered before going on. "I think they made it so there's only one way in."

"How many guards?" Vickie leaned over to watch Andy draw.

"Two of them, at least."

"And you don't know how many people they have?" Michonne asked.

"No..." Andy answered, sounding unsure before he spoke again. "Uh, I mean, no." he sounded surer this time. "I saw a place where they stored food. It wasn't that big, so..."

This got my attention. "You've been inside?"

He nodded. "Yeah. They had us load in supplies one time."

Glenn grabbed another piece of paper, putting over the one already in front of Andy. "What do you remember?"

With that, Andy started drawing again.

"You didn't see any other rooms?" Maggie asked.

"No, it's a big place." Andy gestured to his drawing. "This is the hallway I saw. There is more."

"And every time, they had you bring things into here?" Michonne pointed to where he'd drawn the pantry.

He thought about it for a moment. "We brought a couple spears for them. Two of the Saviours took them down this hallway." he drew the route. "Now they must have done something with them because they didn't come back with them."

"Maybe a weapons locker, an armoury." Jesus suggested.

"Okay." Glenn nodded. "We get in there, secure the armoury, that's how we end it."

"That's how you and Carol ended it here." Maggie noted, looking to Vickie.

Andy didn't seem so sure with the plan. "But we don't know if they have an armoury of where it even is."

"Well, we've got a lot of good guesses." Daryl shrugged. "We've done more with less."

He was right. "We go in at night while they're sleeping." I told everyone.

"The guards won't be sleeping." Andy started. "Like I said, I think there's only one way in and there's no way to bust through that door without waking up the rest of them."

"We don't need to." I shook my head. "They're gonna open it for us, let us walk right in. They want Gregory's head, right? We're gonna give it to them."

**VPOV**

I pulled the covers back with a sigh, getting under the blankets and joining Daryl in bed. He stretched his arm out and pulled me closer as I laid down next to him.

"You a'right?"

I shook my head, leaning against his chest as he sat up against the pillows. "Aly's worried about tomorrow. She's worried about Tara, too. Heath and Tara are going on that two-week trip straight after we... You know..."

"Deal with the Saviours." he finished for me.

I nodded. "Yeah. Deal with the Saviours." it was a nicer way of putting it...

Pulling me closer he lifted my chin so I'd look up at him. "Are you a'right with this? Stay here if you're not. We'll both stay. Rick's just gotta get it."

"It's not the first time I've done this, Daryl. Killing people... we've both done what we've had to do in the past. But it  _feels_  different this time. This time it's not in self-defence. This time it's cold blooded murder."

"We don't do it, it's like Rick said, 'They'll come for us'." he reminded me. But honestly, I hadn't stopped thinking about the whole situation since I thought it up at the Hilltop. "We do this, we're doin' it for Aly. And for us." his hand slid down to rest on my stomach.

As much as I knew I should tell him the truth. As much as I knew he wouldn't hate me... there was still doubt in my mind. There was still that overwhelming sense that he would leave me the moment he found out there was a very unlikely chance of us having a baby because of me.

I know, that's stupid. After everything we've been through, you'd think I'd know better than that. But still... There's that little voice in the inside of my mind telling me that if I said something to him, he'd change. He'd look at me differently. He'd create distance between us.

Nothing scared me more than losing Daryl. He was my rock. He was the love of my life. If I lost him... It didn't even have to be through death... If I lost him, I'd lose myself. If I lost my dad, Carl, Aly, Judith, Maggie, Glenn, Michonne, Tara, Sasha, Rosita, Abraham, Eugene,  _anyone_  it would kill me. But if I lost Daryl... I wouldn't just die. I'd lose my way. Nothing would matter anymore. Without him...

It happened before. After the farm. After Jason and his friends. When I was alone for those eight months. I became something inhuman. I became an animal. I wasn't myself anymore, and it took me everything to get myself back. If I lost my loved ones again, I didn't think I'd survive.

So no, I wasn't going to tell Daryl the truth. Not yet at least.

Smiling sweetly, I looked up at him. "You know, we missed out on our daily and nightly activity yesterday and today."

Just like that, his eyes began to darken with lust. "Yeah, we did."

Before I had the chance to say or do anything else, he was on me. His lips crashing onto mine. His hands grasped my sides as he rolled us over until he was on top and between my thighs. Moving his lips to my jaw, he nibbled against my skin, making me moan as one of his hands made its way to my underwear and began to pull them off.

As we pulled apart so he could take the piece of clothing off me completely, we then made good work of undressing each other as fast as possible.

We knew what was coming tomorrow. We knew the risk. We always knew the risk. So if there was a chance we weren't going to make it back home in one piece, then we were going to make tonight last as long as we could.

Once we were completely naked, Daryl pulled pack a little more and looked me up and down. Leaning in, he began to kiss my stomach, pressing a kiss to each of my scars, working his way up. He even pressed his lips to the old bullet wound on my arm.

When he reached my face, he pressed a gentle kiss on the cut on my cheek, before stopping to look me in the eyes. "I love you, Vic."

"I love you too, Daryl."

"Do anything for you. If that means I gotta break into the Saviours' compound and kill every last person in there to keep them from comin' after you and our family, I'll do it. There ain't nothing in the world that I care about more than you."

Looking in his eyes I wondered if there should be a part of me worried that he was so willing to hurt others for me. But I couldn't help feeling even more turned on than I was moments ago.

Grabbing the side of his head, I pulled him back to my lips, desperately needed him. Completely and absolutely.

**  
**

**Chapter 17**

**My Body Count is Well Over Twenty**

**VPOV**

"You remember what I told you?"

Aly gave me a curt nod. "Stay with Carl while Denise works."

"And?"

"Don't let Houdini near the church, 'cause he'll get muddy."

" _And_?" I gave her a pointed look, hands on my hips.

She sighed, looking down at the ground. "Don't eat all the cookies Carol made."

We stood by the front gates of Alexandria, a few vehicles lined up, ready to go. A group of us were heading out to go deal with the Saviours. Aly understood what we were doing- though she didn't know all the details obviously- and was just quickly saying goodbye before we all left.

"Can I have  _some_  cookies?"

I shrugged. "Fine. You can have two. One during the day and one after dinner tonight. But don't eat them all, because Carol knows how many there are and she will count them when we get back. Okay?"

"O-kay." she sighed. "Will you be back for breakfast?" she looked up at me hopeful.

"You better hope not, Squirt." Abraham stepped up to us, picking the little girl up. "We stay back a little longer, you got more food to stuff those cheeks with." he pinched her face. "Now I have a very important mission for you, little lady."

"What?" she asked, playing with the ends of his facial hair.

"I need you to keep an eye on Eugene for me. You do that for me, and I'll keep an eye on your mum here."

She smiled at him, her eyes shinning. "Okay."

"Promise?"

She nodded. "Pinky promise." she lifted her pinky finger to him.

He looked from her finger, to her, and then back before lifting his own pinky and wrapping it around her's. "Pinky promise."

My heart warmed at the sight of them. Aly and Daryl were close. She was close with Tara, Maggie, Glenn, Denise, Carol, Michonne, Carl, dad. She'd even spent time with Sasha when Tyresse had been around, taking care of the kids. But most people didn't get too attached to kids these days. So seeing Abraham and Aly together like this... It meant more to me than I could possible explain.

An arm found its way around my waist as Daryl pulled me to him. "We ready to go?"

Looking over my shoulder at him, I nodded. "Yep. Just wanted to make sure Aly knew the rules."

"Alright." Abraham put Aly back down. "Time to go, Squirt. But don't worry. We'll be back. We'll be faster than a one-legged man in an ass kickin' contest." he told her and she just giggled at him.

"Okay, hug time." I crouched down at her level.

Turning back to me, she wrapped her arms around my neck, holding me tightly. "I love you, mum."

Stroking her hair, I nodded against her. "I love you too, sweetie."

Pulling back she stepped to Daryl. He lifted her into his arms, the two sharing a silent hug for a moment or two before he put her back on the ground. With a quick look to each other, they said their goodbyes, without saying a word.

"Alright. Day lights burnin'." Abraham called to everyone else before we started piling in to the vehicles.

**DPOV**

I was riding in the van at the back of the line up. A pick up in the middle and the RV up front. Rick, Michonne, Andy, Carol, Sasha and Jesus were in the RV. Gabriel, Abraham, Aaron and Heath in the pick up. While Tara, Maggie, Glenn, Vic and myself were in the van. Vic and I sat in the back, with Tara on Vic's other side, Glenn driving and Maggie next to her. I had my arm around Vic's side, holding her hand, holding her close.

"So we're splitting up in groups?" Tara asked.

Vic nodded. "It'll be faster and safer that way."

"So..." Tara looked around the vehicle. "Who's going with who?"

"Maggie is staying with the vehicles. Right, Maggie?" Vic looked to her best friend. When Maggie nodded, Vic went on. "I'll go with Glenn and Heath. I think working in twos and threes will be better."

I nudged her with my shoulder, letting her know I wasn't too happy with that idea.

Sighing, she turned to me. "I know. But I'll be fine. We won't be too far from each other. If something goes wrong, I'll scream and you'll come running."

"I'll take care of her Daryl." Glenn looked to us through the rear view mirror.

She nodded, smiling. "And I'll take care of him."

Looking from Glenn to Vic, I shook my head, giving in. "Fine. Abraham, Sasha and me will head south. Don't go too far." I warned before turning to look out the window.

"I guess I could always go with Aaron and Rosita." Tara nodded as the car fell silent again.

**VPOV**

Walking through the long grass with Heath and Glenn, we came across some walkers. The three of us moved fast, grabbing a walker each, killing it swiftly. We made sure not to damage the faces, needing them to look relatively life like...

Once the walkers were dead, Glenn and I crouched down by one of them.

"What do you think?" Heath asked, standing by the body.

I shrugged. "Could be."

"Maybe." Glenn didn't sound too sure. "If we, uh, cut the hair, trim the beard. If it's dark." he stood, still looking at the corpse.

Heath sighed. "We're gonna kill those people. Tonight." he shook his head. "Look, I've been lucky. I haven't had to do it before. Have you?"

I didn't look up from where I was still crouching. I just kept my eyes on the dead walker as Glenn answered the question.

"I've been lucky, too."

"You nervous?" Heath clearly was. I didn't blame him of course.

It took a moment before Glenn spoke. "Have you ever seen something that, um... Afterwards, you... You didn't want to sleep and you weren't hungry because when you close your eyes, you could see it? And when you try to eat-"

Heath cut him off. "Yeah."

"Me, too." Glenn went on. "Killing somebody has gotta be worse than that. It has to be. So, yeah, I'm nervous. For the whole thing, man." he sighed. "For the whole thing."

"I've killed people." I didn't have to look up to know they were both staring down at me. Glenn knew. Most of our group had killed people. But Glenn didn't know all of it. Getting to my feet, I nodded. "I've killed. Men, women. I haven't kept count or anything, but I know my body count is well over twenty."

Heath looked to the ground, away from me. I could feel the sympathy radiating off him. He felt sorry for me. That was his choice, and- once again- I didn't blame him. But I didn't need him to feel that way. Not for me.

"The first person I killed was a man. He was one in a group. They'd tied me down, nearly stripped me bare, and were going to rape me. If I hadn't of fought, I would have never gotten my hands free, and I might not have made it out of there alive." I took a deep breath. "Killing changed me. I think about the people I've killed... a lot. Not every night, not any more. The pain and the memory of it, it does dim. Knowing the reason why those people are dead is so I can live, and so my family can live, keeps me going." I shrugged, pulling out my machete I was carrying. "Just keep that in mind tonight." I told them before lining my blade up with the dead walker's neck, and bring it down, severing the walker's head.

 

...

 

I stood with dad behind the RV, our people standing in front of us as dad told them what was going down at the Saviours' compound tonight.

"We're gonna take a look around, try to get a feel for how many people are in there. We like how it looks, we go in. A couple of hours before dawn. The guards outside'll be tired. Everyone inside'll be sleeping."

I could see everyone was having mixed feeling about this. To my right, Gabriel, Aaron and Heath looked nervous while Rosita looked kind of angry. On my left Michonne looked ready, and Sasha and Abraham looked determined. In front of me Tara leaned against the side of the pick up, looking unsure, Maggie and Glenn rested against the front of the hood seeing as prepared as they could be, while Daryl sat on the hood looking confident.

Carol stood behind dad and myself, while Jesus and Andy were at the front of the RV looking at the severed heads everyone had brought back before this little gathering.

Knowing everyone had different feelings about what was about to go down, I felt the need and responsibility to step up and say something to possible ease some minds.

Shifting on the spot, I spoke up. "If we don't like what we see, we head back, make a new plan. These people don't know who we are. They can't come after us if they don't know we're going after them. As long as we keep the element of surprise, everything will work."

Dad nodded. "This is how we eat." he looked to everyone. "This is how we eat. We roll out at midnight." having nothing left to say, he nudged my arm and gestured for me to follow before turning around and heading for Jesus and Andy.

"Why is Maggie here?" Carol asked, stopping us.

Dad shrugged. "She's guarding the perimeter."

"Yeah, but  _why_  is she here?" Carol asked. It was clear she didn't agree with the fact we'd let a pregnant woman join us.

I'd talked to Maggie. I knew why she'd come. She felt a responsibility like I did. We made the deal with Gregory. We'd put our people in this situation. Sure, dad and I had come up with the idea. But Maggie had helped put it in motion.

"'Cause it's her choice." dad answered simply.

"I want to stay out there with her." Carol offered.

But dad shook his head. "This whole thing's a race to the need as many people inside as we can get."

"She shouldn't be out there alone. She shouldn't be out here in the first place." Carol argued.

I wasn't sure if dad was going to agree or disagree with her, but before he had the chance to speak, I nodded. "Okay. You stay outside with her, watch the perimeter. The rest of us will head in, deal with the Saviours. Once the coast is clear,  _I'll_  come out and get the two of you. We don't need you out in the open for too long. Best we all stay together." I turned to dad. "Okay?"

He sighed. "Okay."

Looking back to Carol, she seemed pleased with the plan. "Good."

Happy that everyone now knew what they were doing, dad and I continued towards Andy and Jesus.

"She's done with the hair?" dad asked as we looked down at the walker heads before us.

We'd all collected a small few and laid them out. Rosita fixed them up, making sure the hair was grey and the beard was relatively the same as Gregory's. We needed it to look like him so we could fool the Saviours' into thinking the Hilltop people had killed him like they asked.

"So who's the winner, boys?" I asked, coming to a stop between dad and Jesus.

"That one." Jesus gestured to the middle one.

Andy agreed. "Yeah, that's it."

"All right." dad nodded. It seemed we were all ready to do this now.

"Though, it's probably good we're doing this at night." Jesus commented.

Dad and I looked to him as dad spoke. "Something wrong with it?"

"The nose. Gregory's is a different shape." Jesus pointed out.

Dad knelt by the heads, grabbing the one Jesus and Andy picked, curling his hand into a fist. But before he could swing, I stopped him. He looked up at me confused.

"Can I do it? It's probably the closest I'll get to hitting the real guy."

Dad shrugged, standing up and handing the head over to me. "Go for it."

Holding on to the hair, I lined my fist up before punching the face a few times with a grunt. I took a look but wasn't happy so I gave a few more punches before setting the head down, satisfied with my work.

Jesus and Andy looked from me to dad, unsure why we'd just done that.

"He fought back." dad explained before gesturing to Andy's cast. "He broke your hand, right?"

Jesus gave a short nod, understanding. "Guess there's no reason to be subtle about it."

As I stood up again I noticed Andy giving dad and I a look. "What?"

He shook his head. "The Saviours, they're scary, but those pricks got nothing on the two of you."

**DPOV**

Vic and I stood off to the side, just in view of Andy as he walked up the short path in front of the compound with the bag holding the severed head in his hand. Two armed men met him half way, aiming their weapons at him, ready to shoot. When Andy stopped, he offered them the bag.

But one of the men- the one with the beanie and beard- shook their head. "I don't want the bag, needle dick."

Hesitating a moment, Andy then reached into the bag and pulled out the head, showing them.

Once again, Beanie spoke. "Will you look at this shit? Will you look at this shit?!"

The other guy- he looked Mexican from here- stepped up to Andy, taking the head to get a better look. As he examined it, Andy must have looked nervous or unsure, because the guys kept looking at him.

"He broke my hand." Andy showed them his cast. "I broke his nose. That's why he looks that way."

Mexican took another look at the head, before bring it up to his own, facing it towards Andy. "Little bitch broke my nose." he said in a nasally voice, moving the jaw of the head. His friend laughed. "Wahh." tossing the head aside, he nodded. "Okay, looks like you've learned." he wiped the walker's blood on to Andy's shirt. "I'll get your guy, you'll go home, and you bring us more stuff next week, hmm?" he gave Andy a playful slap on the face.

Mex then turned and headed back inside as Beanie began to whistle a tune.

Before we'd come here, Vic had offered to take down the first guy. Her case was that it should be her because she came up with this idea and she put it together. Yes, Rick came up with the idea as well. Yes, Maggie put the deal together as well. But Vic was there each step. She felt it was only right she made the first move.

But now as we stood there, I couldn't let her do it. I couldn't let that fall on her. So before she could move, I did.

I rushed forward, as quiet as I possibly could before I grabbed Beanie's head, pulled it back and slit his throat without hesitating, blinking or thinking. Then as the body fell I stabbed him in the head.

Just like that, all our people came out from their hiding places like scurrying mice. We got ride of the body and the guy's weapon, making sure there was no trace of us killing him before we hid again. Andy had grabbed a gun and gotten back into position

The door opened, Mexican coming out with a tied up guy in front of him. "Well, well, well. Look who it is."

Before anyone could say or do anything else, Michonne stepped out of hiding, moved behind Mex and stabbed him through his back with her sword, all the way through.

Andy's friend yelped, but Andy grabbed him and covered his mouth before he could make another noise.

Shushing the guy, Andy looked to his friend. "It's okay, it's okay. We're bringing you back. We're bringing you back."

Vic stepped forward, stabbing Mex in the brain as Rick pulled the compound keys out of Mex's pocket and threw them to me.

I opened the door, gun ready, nodding to the others as Tara, Gabriel and Andy took the guy to the car in the forest where Jesus was waiting.

Once the others dealt with Mex's body, we all moved inside, ready for what was about to come next.

**VPOV**

I understood why Daryl killed the guy wearing the beanie out front, but the fact he killed him and I didn't, still had me feeling guilty. Only now it wasn't because I had blood on my hands. Now it was because Daryl did, and he didn't have to.

But I pushed it to the side, not needing any distractions and we moved further into the building. Right now, all my attention needed to be on the task at hand. Lives were at stake. Not just mine. But my family's. There was no way I was letting them get hurt.

"Check the doors." dad whispered to all of us as we started splitting off into groups.. "Find the arsenal. We take 'em out."

I took one look at Daryl before he gave a nod, the two of us going off in different directions. He went with dad and Michonne, while I went with Glenn and Heath again.

Stepping up to the door, Heath and Glenn waited a moment, making sure the three of us were ready, before Glenn turned the handle, and slowly opened the door. Inside were two men in a bed each, fast asleep, oblivious to the world. Glenn and I stepped in while Heath kept watch. I stepped up to the guy on the right while Glenn stepped to the guy on the left.

Kneeling by the bed, I pulled out my knife, lined up my blade, looked away slightly, and pushed into the skull.

It was always harder killing humans compared to walkers. Not just emotionally. Walkers were dead. Everything inside them was decaying. But a human was alive. Their bones were strong. Their blood still pumped. Everything in them worked. Having all that extra stuff behind the kill, really drived the fact is was a person into your brain.

Getting to my feet, not wasting a moment, I turned just in time to see Glenn about to kill the other guy.

Moving to my best friend, I grabbed his arm and stopped him. When he looked up at me, I shook my head. He seemed to understand because he stepped back and let me in closer. I knelt once more, lined my blade up once more, but this time I just pushed into the brain. I didn't look away, I didn't hold out for a single second.

Standing again, I felt Glenn next to me, grabbing my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Looking to him, our eyes locked and a silent message crossed between us.

He knew why I'd done it. He understood. It was because I didn't want to taint my friend. I didn't want him to have to live with the weight of killing someone. I wanted him to be able to close his eyes at night and sleep as soundlessly as possible. I wanted him to be able to eat food without wanting to throw it back up.

As he looked away from me, something changed in his eyes. Following his gaze I found myself staring at a bunch of Polaroid pictures on the wall. None of them were of family and friends like Aly's were. No these were photos of heads smashed in. Blood and brains. Horror and nightmares.

Shaking my head I tugged on Glenn's hand before letting it go, the two of us leaving the room to join Heath again.

We didn't find anymore people... that was until an alarm went off.

**MPOV**

When an alarm went off, I felt my insides drop. Glenn was inside. Vickie was inside. Everyone was inside. If they got hurt...

"They're in trouble. Stay here." Carol started for the building.

But I was right behind her. "I'm going with you."

"I said stay here."

"No."

Spinning on her hells, she grabbed me. "Damn it, Maggie!"

I glared at her. "I have to!" if the people I loved and cared about were in danger, then nothing else mattered. I had to get to them. I had to help them.

"No, you don't. You don't have to." she argued.

"Yes, I do."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

I shook my head. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You're supposed to be someone else!" she snapped.

I could see what she was trying to tell me. I could see that she didn't want me hurting or losing the baby. I could see she didn't want me to have to take lives when I was making one. But the alarm wasn't stopping and our people were still in danger. Like I said, nothing else mattered except making sure the people I loved and cared about were okay.

"They need out help." I told her.

The sound of a walker had me turn.

Carol grabbed and killed it before I had the chance to make a move.

When she turned back to look at me she looked at my knife and then locked her eyes on to mine. "You are staying here."

Suddenly Carol's body language changed as she lifted her gun and aimed it past my shoulder. I turned, seeing a guy headed our way, as he grabbed his own gun.

But Carol shot him before he could do anything. Getting him in the arm. It was rare for her to miss, but she had. So, I moved forward, ready to finish the job.

"Damn it, Maggie, let's go." Carol kept her voice low, just in case.

I stopped next to the guy, aiming at his head. "Not until it's done."

"Stop!" a woman ordered and a gun clicked. "Or she's dead."

Another gun clicked and as I looked up, my eyes landed on a woman with dark hair, standing in front of me, aiming at my head. Turning I saw the woman threatening Carol. She had red hair and was holding a gun to my friend's head.

"Guns, knives on the ground, right now." Red ordered.

I knew I had no choice, so I did as she said. Moving slowly, I put my gun on the floor and pulled out my knife, placing it down as well.

"Nice jacket." I turned to see another woman- this one older than the others- aiming another gun at me.

"For a murderous bitch." the brunette spoke from behind me.

"Well, we'll take it off her before we shoot her." Red told them as Carol dropped her weapons.

I could see the situation we were in. I could see what was happening in front of me. But I wasn't going to let it push me down. I'd been through enough to know I could get through this. With Carol, my chances were better than if I was alone. So we'd make it out of this. We had no choice if we wanted to live.

**VPOV**

People had found Glenn, Heath and myself, and were shooting at us. We had no way out. At one end of the hallway were people, at the other end a closed door. I didn't know what was behind said closed door, but I hoped it was better than the other way out, because if we had to push through the people, we weren't going to make it through.

"Come on!" I yelled to the others before turning on my heels and heading for the door.

Glenn and Heath laid cover behind. Though they didn't actually shoot anyone. I raised my gun and pulled the trigger on the door, aiming for the handle.

Once I reached it, I threw my body weight on to the door, pushing it open. "Get in!" I shouted over the gun fire as I got to the ground.

Heath and Glenn were right behind me, falling into the room. Slamming the door shut, I didn't really have time to register that we were in the armoury. Instead- once the firing on the other side stopped- I grabbed one of the guns, stood, turned to the door again, and aimed the weapon.

"Stay down!" I told Glenn and Heath before pulling the trigger, letting bullets eat through the door and into anyone on the other side.

I just held the trigger down on the automatic weapon, firing bullet after bullet. Anyone who'd been following us was sure to get hit, and most probably die. I made sure I fired everywhere. Low high. Left right. I wasn't leaving anything to chance.

When the gun finally ran out of bullets, I grabbed another one. "Get against the wall." I gestured the wall on the side as I stepped closer to the door.

Laying my hand on the handle, I waited a split second before throwing the door open.

Bodies... five of them. Laid on the floor, bloody, riddled with bullets, and dead... Or so I thought.

Movement caught my eye as one of the bodies moved. Only it wasn't a body. It was a guy. He'd survived my shower of bullets, and was lifting his gun towards me. I raised my own, but knew I wouldn't make it before he pulled the trigger.

A shot went of.

At first I thought it had been the guy. I thought he'd pulled the trigger, shot me and I was about to die. Everything had happened so fast that seemed like the only option. I knew  _I_  hadn't shot the guy. So who else could it have been.

"So, this is the next world."

I looked up seeing Jesus standing there, lowering his gun and pulling down the bandanna from his face. His eyes set on mine, the two of us sharing a moment as I realized he'd just saved my life.

**DPOV**

Guns raised, Rick pulled open a roller shutter, our group moving out to check the area. We'd slowly bit by bit come together as we moved through the building, coming to the only other exit we could find besides the front door.

I hadn't seen Vic, yet. As much as I wanted to ask questions, there was still a job to do. It was day light outside, and we'd spent a good few hours clearing out the Saviours. The last thing we needed was for me to screw things up because I was worried about Vic. If she was safe, then I would have ruined it all for nothing. But if she wasn't... well then nothing really mattered anyway.

When everything looked clear, Rick nodded, giving us the okay.

Lowering my gun, I moved straight to Glenn and Heath as they stood by one of the Saviour vehicles.

I knew Heath and Tara were going away for two weeks, looking for supplies. Heath used to go with a man and a woman. But the woman passed while we were dealing with the huge walker herd, and the guy got shot in the leg and hadn't healed to one hundred percent.

Tara used to do runs with Glenn and Vic. Nicholas, Noah and Aiden would join too. Before that, it was Tara, Glenn, Vic and Maggie. But with Maggie being pregnant, Glenn didn't want to stray too far. And with her new role as a leader, Vic had to stay close too.

"Where's Vic?"

Before either of them could answer, Tara stepped up to me. "She met Gabriel and me outside. Told us to head in while she made sure Maggie and Carol were okay. Told us she'd watch the perimeter. Said things were crazy inside and that you guys might need us." she shrugged. "We said our goodbyes and everything out there so I don't think she's coming back yet."

Glenn nodded. "She's fine. She just wanted to make sure no one got out and found Maggie and Carol." he reached forward, resting a hand on my shoulder. "You know she can take care of herself."

Looking at Glenn, I knew he was right, so with a short nod, I turned and moved off, keeping my eyes on our surroundings.

"Hey, Daryl." Tara cleared her throat. I turned to her as she went on. "Can you do me a favour?"

"Mmm." I gave a short nod.

"I was wondering if you could let Aly stay with Denise a few times while I'm gone. I know the two of them have gotten pretty close, and I know Denise will be worrying about me. Maybe having some company will help her." she shrugged.

I nodded again. "Sure."

A smile spread on her face. "Thanks." raising her fist, she gestured for me to give her a fist bump.

I did, without hesitation. It was something she'd done since the first moment she'd joined our group. She probably did it before everything turned to shit, too. It had been weird at first, but like most things, it grew on you.

With nothing left to say, she back up and moved back to the vehicle Heath and Glenn was standing by. She got in the passenger seat while Heath got in the driver's. We all watched as the two of them got comfortable, waved goodbye, and drove off.

I was still watching them leave when I heard the sound of a motorbike.

The bike came out of the door we'd walked out of, a bald guy in a leather jacket was riding it, trying to make an escape. I knew in an instant that it was  _my_  bike.

"Son of a bitch!" I rushed towards the bike.

Rosita lifted her gun and shot the gun. It wouldn't kill him. Just enough to wound and get him off my bike.

Still running for him I threw myself on to the guy and pushed us to the ground. We landed and I was on him in an instant, slamming my fist into his face a few times.

Pulling back, I grabbed his jacket. "Where'd you get the bike? Huh?"

A gun clicked behind me. I knew it was one of our people aiming at the guy so I didn't care, I just kept holding him on the ground, wanting nothing more than to beat him to a bloody mess- which he almost was, but not quite.

He looked behind my shoulder, probably at the gun. "Just do it! Like you did everyone else, right?"

" _Lower your gun, prick._ " a voice spoke over a walkie that had fallen off the guy. " _You with the Colt Python_."

I let the guy go and got to my feet, seeing that it was Rick who'd been aiming at the guy.

" _All of you, lower your weapons right now._ "

Instead of doing what they said, we all raised our weapons as we looked around us, trying to find any sign of any life. I grabbed my gun and aimed it at the guy as Rick continued to do the same.

Having spotted the walkie, Rick crouched down, picking it up and spoke into it. "Come on out. Let's talk."

" _We're not coming out, but we will talk._ " the woman spoke through the walkie again, waiting a moment before adding, " _We've got a Carol, a Maggie and a Victoria. I'm thinking that's something you want to chat about. We're gonna work this out right now, and it's going to go our way._ "

The tension in our group grew at the sound of those three names. Carol, Maggie and Vic were family. It didn't matter who they had, really, if it was family, we'd care. But hearing that they had Vic... my rage went from controlled, to down right nuclear.

Dropping my gun I grabbed the guy from the ground. "You tell me where they are! Now! Or you'll be wishing you were dead, asshole!"

"Daryl!" Rick grabbed my shoulder as he and Michonne pulled the guy and I apart. "We've gotta be smart about this." Rick leaned into my view as I kept a glare on the Saviour.

"They have 'em. They have  _her_." I was seething.

I could see Glenn as well. He was almost as pissed as I was. If he was capable of it, I knew he'd blow up like me.

"I know." Rick nodded. "Which mean these assholes don't know what's comin' for them."

**  
**

**Chapter 18**

**Bound and Gagged**

**VPOV**

I'd been looking for Maggie and Carol when I got jumped. I didn't see or hear anyone over the blaring alarm... but I felt them... and the butt of their gun slamming against the back of my head.

When I came to, I found myself leaning against a tree, hands tied, Maggie and Carol to my right- though their hands weren't tied up. There were five others standing off to the side. Though they weren't too far away, I knew it wouldn't take much to get their attention.

There was a man who was bleeding, middle aged and clearly pissed. An older woman tending to the man, she was shot, round and rude. Another woman, who oddly looked like Maggie, only meaner. The fourth person was a blonde, a girl who looked to be around my age. The last was a redheaded woman- I knew in an instant that she was in charge.

I looked over to Maggie and Carol, seeing the two of them watching the others.

Maggie turned to me then. Her eyes were relived, and I wondered how bad I'd been hit on the head. It was hurting, throbbing, but I wasn't too sure what the extent of the damage was.

"You okay?" Maggie whispered.

I shrugged. "As good as I can be." my eyes darted over to look at the strangers. "I don't really have the option of not being okay."

"We'll get out of this." Maggie reassured me. "I know we will."

My eyes landed on Carol who looked more terrified than I'd like her to be. Out of everyone I could have gotten kidnapped with, I was with two of our best people. Carol  _could_  do anything. Maggie  _would_  do anything. I would and could do anything. All we had to do was wait for the right moment.

The others must have heard us, because suddenly they were coming our way.

"Okay, get them on their feet. We need to see what we're dealing with." the redhead ordered.

The blonde grabbed me, the older woman grabbed Carol and the Maggie-look-alike grabbed Maggie. Pulling us to our feet they began to shove us forward, leading us closer to the compound. I just hoped our people had dealt with the rest of the Saviours so we wouldn't have too many we'd have to deal with.

 

...

 

"It ain't on there right, I can feel it." the guy complained as the older woman tried to tie something around his upper arm to cut off the circulation. It looked like he'd been shot. "It ain't stopping."

"I'm getting it tighter. Jesus, give me a second." the older woman didn't seem to have much love or patience for the man.

"Son of a bitch, you're cutting off my circulation." he complained more.

The older woman just rolled her eyes. "Well, sport, it's supposed to."

The sound of distant gunshots had me flinch and look in the direction of the compound. We were too far away for us to really see anything- the redhead was the only one who could see, seeing as she had a pair of binoculars. I still watched as a bunch of people jumped a guy.

"What the hell was that?" the Maggie-look-alike asked the redhead.

"It's Primo." the redhead answered. "Damn it, they've got him. Give me the walkie." she gestured to the man

"Babe, what's happening?" he asked her as he did as she ordered.

Ignoring him, the redhead lifted the walkie and spoke into it. "Lower your gun, prick. You with the Colt Python."  _Dad..._  "All of you, lower you weapons right now."

There was a moment's pause before another voice spoke through the walkie. " _Come on out. Let's talk._ " it was dad. He was okay. Relief flooded through me, because if dad was okay, everyone else should be.

"How many we got?" the older woman asked the redhead.

"Eight in sight. Too many."

The man disagreed. "No, we can take them. We took more."

Ignoring him once more, the redhead spoke to dad again. "We're not coming out, but we will talk." she turned to Maggie, Carol and myself. "Names." but we stayed silent. "Names!"

"I'm Maggie, she's Carol and that's Victoria."

 _Lifting the walkie to her lips again, the redhead told dad who she had. "_ We've got a Carol, a Maggie and a Victoria. I'm thinking that's something you want to chat about." she paused before going on. "We're gonna work this out right now, and it's going to go our way."

There was a long before dad spoke again. " _You can see we have one of yours._ " he countered. " _We'll trade._ "

"I'm listening."

" _First, I want to talk to Maggie, Carol and Victoria, make sure they're all right._ "

The redhead turned to us. "I'm gonna put you on. You say you're fine. I'll know if you try anything else." she stepped up to Carol first.

Carol leaned forward. "Rick, it's Carol. I'm fine, but-"

The redhead pulled away and turned to Maggie. "Now you."

"Rick, it's Maggie. We're all okay. We'll figure this-"

"Shut up." the redhead stepped up to me. "Go." she lifted the walkie to my lips.

I kept my eyes on hers as I spoke. "We're fine dad." I kept it short and simple, not wanting to piss anyone off. Now was not the time to make the wrong move.

The redhead pulled back, stepping over to her spot again, to look through the binoculars. "You have your proof, let's talk."

" _All right, this is the deal, right here. Let them go, you can have your guy back and live._ "

"Three for one, that's not much of a trade."

" _You don't have another choice. Or you would've done something about it already."_  dad noted.

"We have to get him back." the man told the redhead.

"Primo can take care of himself."

"He can patch me up." he turned to Carol. "I need him, thanks to that bitch." shaking his head he looked to the redhead again. "You lost your balls, Paula. You should've shot her in the head so they could hear her die."

He was clearly pissing the redhead off. "If you could just shut up, I'll solve this."

"You make the deal or we go in."

"She said, 'shut up', so shut it." the older woman snapped. "You should be glad she doesn't have a slack of gonads to trip over."

" _Look, I know you're talking it over. It's a fair trade. Just come out, we do this, we all walk away._ "

The Maggie-look-alike scoffed. "Smug prick. He must think we're stupid."

"That's a good thing." the redhead noted.

" _Do we have a deal?_ "

At the sound of walkers, the redhead turned to the older woman and the younger blonde, giving a nod. Both women walked off to deal with the dead while the man kept standing there, being useless, the Maggie-look-alike kept her gun and eyes on us, and the redhead spoke to dad again.

"I'll get back to you." having nothing left to say, she gave a signal to the Maggie-look-alike, who moved behind us.

She grabbed us and pulled the bottoms of our jackets up over our heads, covering our faces. The last thing I saw was the young blonde chick grinning as she shoved her knife into the head of a rotting walker.

...

My jacket was pulled from my face as I was shoved to the floor. I had a gag in my mouth now, just like Maggie and Carol. Their hands were now bound as well. As we sat on the ground, the redhead tied Carol's feet, while the Maggie-look-alike tied Maggie's and the young blonde did mine.

I didn't bother fighting. Instead, I let the blonde do what she wanted while I took in our surroundings.

We were in a concrete floor room with tiles and metal sheeting on the walls. Two exit doors. A dead walker lay on the ground by a sink where Maggie- who was against the wall to my right. There was nothing by her, or Carol- who was on leaning against the wall to my left. Looking closer to where I sat, I noted that there was nothing useful near me either.

Once our feet were tied, everyone but the redhead walked out of the room. She looked to each of us as she stood by the door, a warning look in her eyes. "You're wondering if there's a way out of this. There isn't. Not unless I say so."

A second later the Maggie-look-alike came in to drag a walker body out. "We need back up out there, Paula." she told the redhead before walking out.

Paula looked to us again. "I wanna kill you all right now. It's taking all I have not to. So, go ahead, I dare you, try something. Just see what happens." she warned before walking out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

The moment she was gone, Maggie got to her knees looking inside the sink next to her for anything we can use. I turned and started feeling around the tiles, hoping to find a loose one. Carol did her own thing as well. We all knew we didn't have a lot of time to waste. We had to get out of here, before shit hit the fan.

There was sounds coming from outside the room. I had no doubt the others were dealing with whatever walkers had managed to get inside the building. But when the noises stopped, so did the rest of us.

Maggie's and my eyes locked as we shared a look. She'd been using the corner of a pillar coming out to the wall to cut the duct tape around her wrists.

Quickly moving back into place, she fixed the sleeves of her jacket up so the others wouldn't notice her tape, while I got back into position as well. But suddenly Carol began to hyperventilate.

I had no idea if it was a show or real, but I was very concerned. If someone like her could break this easily, how long would it take before Maggie and I went down with her?

The other door opened then as the others all pushed back into the room.

"When's the last time anyone checked this place?" Paula asked as she helped the man in.

"It was fine a month ago." the Maggie-look-alike answered.

"Sweetie, that was a month ago. Shit hards quick." the older woman told her. "The guns have gone bye-bye, the food's gone bye-bye, and we got growlers up and down the halls."

"Means people can get through, too." the man noted. "Maybe we should get gone."

"Where, asshole?" the blonde rolled her eyes.

"Nowhere." Paula answered. "Got dead in the halls? Free security. Those assholes get here before our people, the cold bloods will buy us some time." she told her people before turning to Carol as she kept hyperventilating. "Shut up."

"Jesus, it's bleeding." the man looked down at his arm. "It's not supposed to keep bleeding."

"Molly, give me the rope." Paula told the older woman.

The man shook his head. "I'm not losing it. I'm not."

"So you grind it out." the Maggie-look-alike told him as Maggie started to yell at the against her gag. "Jesus, Donnie."

"Screw you, Michelle! We have to get him back." Donnie snapped at the Maggie-look-alike. "He can fix it. We have to, Paula."

"No." Paula didn't even think about it. "I saw them, you didn't. They took the place down. They've got the gun, they'll kill us, too."

The young blonde nodded, stepping closer to me. "This bitch was with them. I saw her leave the building, Paula. Let me kill her before she kills us."

I didn't even flinch. I just glared at the girl.

That's what she was. Now that she was closer, I could see she was a couple of years younger than me. The world had made her hard, turned her into someone she should have never been. But I wasn't going to feel sorry for her. Not when I was probably going to have to kill her.

"No, Liz." Paula shook her head. "You heard her on the radio. The leader is her father. We kill her, and there's no way we'll get Primo back. Then they'll definitely kill us. I'm not going down like that, not after making it this far."

"Hey!" Maggie yelled through her gag. "Hey!"

Sighing, Paula got to her feet, moving over to Maggie. "What?" she snapped as she pulled the gag out of Maggie's mouth.

Maggie gestured to Carol. "She's hyperventilating. Somebody needs to take her gag off."

Shaking her head, Molly- the older woman- stepped up to Carol. "She's a nervous little bird, ain't she?" she sighed, pulling the gag out of Carol's mouth.

Michelle raised her gun at Carol. "Look at you. Bitch, how did you make it this far?"

Liz stepped up to her, hand on hips. "Using people like that one over there, probably." she gestured to me.

Molly leaned over Carol. "Honey, you need to take some yoga breaths and calm your ass down." she told her as she noticed Carol trying to pull something out of her jeans. Bending down, she pulled a rosary out of Carol's pocket, handing it over to my friend. Carol calmed almost instantly. "Oh. You're one of those." shaking her head she walked off.

Paula took Molly's place, looking to Carol. "What are you so afraid of? Are you actually afraid to die?" she scoffed. "All this, and you're scared of getting your ticket punched."

Carol looked up at her. "It doesn't matter what happens to me. Just don't hurt Maggie. Don't hurt the baby."

_Well... shit._

All eyes turned to Maggie.

"Yeah, right." Michelle shook her head, not believing it.

Donnie didn't either. "She's got a bun in the oven? Doesn't look it."

Maggie shrugged. "I'm only two months or so, we think."

Paula grinned. "You're some kind of stupid, getting knocked up in a time like this." Maggie chuckled lightly. "You think that's funny?"

Maggie shook her head. "When was it ever smart to get knocked up? Women used to just die in childbirth. And they always thought the world was gonna end. Living through it, why would you just give up?"

"But are you gonna live through it?" Paula countered. "Anyway, that's cute. Babies are the point. Children are our future. Making bite-size snacks for the dead." she scoffed. "The point is to stay standing."

"No." Maggie shook her head again. "Walkers do that. I'm choosing something."

"That's right. You are. You did." Paula nodded and the turned on her heels, leaving the room.

Once Paula was gone, Molly pulled out some smokes, offering one to Liz before the two lit up a cigarette each and began to smoke. Molly coughed a little, but kept going, while Liz kept her eyes on me, the two of us glaring at each other.

"The baby." we all looked to Carol.

Molly laughed. "Honey, in case you haven't noticed, you've got bigger problems than a little second-hand smoke." she just kept smoking.

"Molls." Michelle spoke up. "Liz. Put them out."

Rolling her eyes, Liz let hers fall the ground before she stepped on it. "This is bullshit. I'm gonna go find Paula." she grumbled as she left.

Molly bent down, pressing the butt of the smoke to the ground. "Y'all are worse than a bunch of Evangelical second-graders." she went to leave, but started coughing, which stopped her.

"Those things will kill you." Carol told her.

"They already have." Molly showed us the handkerchief she'd been coughing into. There was blood where she'd been coughing against it. "I'm a dead woman walking. Which puts us in exactly the same boat." she laughed and coughed again.

 

...

 

Paula and Liz came back into the room. The moment the door closed behind them, Donnie looked up, groaning in pain.

"My arm feels like it's on fire."

Paula knelt down next to him, checking his arm while Molly spoke. "You pull that off, you gonna be nothing but a spigot."

"Okay, hold on." Paula tightened the rope around his arm. "Scout crew is coming. They're thirty minutes out, maybe less."

"He doesn't have thirty minutes." Maggie spoke up. "His nerves are dying. If he doesn't get medical help, he'll lose his arm, maybe his life. I'm not a doctor, but my dad lost his leg, and I know that much." the mention of Hershel was a sting to the heart. "Your man, Primo. You think he can help you? It's time to end this. Talk to Rick."

But Paula just ignored her, looking at Donnie still. "Thirty minutes." she told him, getting to her feet again.

Donnie turned his eyes to Carol, his angry growing with his pain. "You know my problem?" he managed to get himself up on to his feet. "She did this to me. She did it and she just sitting there right as rain, fully intact." he moved to stand in front of Carol. "You're not gonna make the trade. And we just do 'em all now."

"No." Paula shook her head. "We wait for the others. We have to be smart, we need insurance."

"Shoot her in the arm, too." Donnie wasn't letting it go.

Paula chuckled. "No."

"You really gonna stick up for some gutless bitch over me?" Donnie groaned in pain, grabbing his arm. "God damn it!" he bent over.

"Shut up!" Paula snapped.

"Don't push me, Paula." he warned.

"Shut up!" Paula repeated, stepping closer to him.

Before she knew what was happening, Donnie reached forward and back handed Paula's face, sending her a few steps back. Then he turned to Carol, about to go her.

"Leave her alone!" Maggie yelled, tripping the guy up.

He fell to the ground and Maggie rolled herself over and got to her feet. But Donnie was up before her, grabbing her, going to attack her.

"You dumb, uppity bitch!"

"No!" Carol shouted.

I moved fast, kicking out, getting Donnie onto the ground. I threw myself on to him, grabbing him with my tied-up hands as best as I could before I slammed my head down to his nose, breaking it. He groaned and elbowed me in the face. I fell back and could feel blood trickling down from where my cut on my cheek had split again. Donnie used the time wisely, getting to his feet before kicking my side multiple times.

Then I heard a thud and Donnie's kicking stopped. I looked up in time to see him fall while Liz looked over him, gun in hand- she must have hit him over the head with it.

"Sit up." Liz sighed, moving over to help me sit again.

Paula shook her head, looking to Maggie. "You really are some kind of stupid." she rubbed her cheek where Donnie got her. She turned to Michelle. "Take her out. See if she knows anything." she gestured to Maggie. "I should've done that before."

Maggie was still standing as Michelle stepped up to her, grabbing her arm. "Move." she ordered, leading Maggie out of the room.

**MPOV**

 

I sat in a chair a couple of feet or so away from Michelle as she sat on a chair as well, her gun placed on her lap, her grip on the weapon telling me she'll shoot if she has to. "You've got nice clothes, time to makes babies. You're holed up somewhere good. Tell me where."

Instead of answering I looked to my left and leaned over, throwing up on to the floor. Once I was done I sat back again, looking to Michelle once more.

"Don't draw this out, bitch. Just tell me where. Help yourself and the baby in your belly. The way you stay alive is you produce for us." she leaned forward. "You're not the good guys. You should know that."

**VPOV**

"He got you good kid." Molly fixed Paula's cheek.

Paula shrugged. "He's in pain. Guys can't handle pain." she noted, making Molly grin.

"Excuse me?" Carol spoke up. When they looked to her, she went on. "Just wanted to say thank you for helping Maggie, for helping me." she looked to Liz in the corner. "And for you helping Victoria." she shook her head, eyes falling to her lap. "My husband, Ed, he used to-"

Paula cut her off. "Yeah? I don't care if your old man used to ring your bell. I see exactly who you are, Carol. I know. You're pathetic. You want to think we're just the same? Go ahead. You're wrong. He's just a warm body for my bed." she gestured to Donnie who was still unconscious on the floor. " That's it. I could kill him in his sleep." she paused, watching Carol, chuckling lightly. "Do you really believe in that crap?"

Carol looked up at her, away from her rosary beads. "My faith got me through the death of my daughter."

At the mention of Sophia, I had to look away. It was a sore spot for me. It always would be. Nothing would take away the guilt I felt when it came to Sophia. Nothing would ever compare to that guilt and pain. The only thing that would be worse is if I caused the death of a family member who I was closer to.

"Mmm." Paula nodded. "Well, the good news it maybe you'll see her again soon."

**MPOV**

Michelle groaned as she fixed up the bandage around her amputated finger.

"What happened?"

She looked up at me, frowning. "I stole something. Got caught."

"What?"

She shrugged. "Gas from this place."

"Why?"

"To get a new car. And look for my boyfriend's body."

"Did you find him?"

"He was blown up. Not much to find."

I instantly knew what she was talking about. Maybe I didn't know the guy. Maybe I'd never met him. But I did know he would have been part of the group that Daryl, Abraham and Sasha came across on the road. They'd told us how Daryl had used the RPG to blow up a bunch of Negan's men.

I looked down at her arm as I tried to think of something to say, when my eyes landed on a tattoo on her arm. "'Frankie'." I read. "Was that his name?"

"Hell, no. I barely knew him. He was a dick. Frank was my dad." a smile played on her lips. "And that's what I was gonna name the baby."

I realised then, why she'd changed towards me slightly since figuring out I was pregnant. She'd lost a baby. She knew how that felt, and didn't wish that on anyone, not even me.

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "No. You aren't."

"I'm not planning to die today." I told her.

"Yeah, me neither." she nodded. "The thing is, one of us is wrong." she leaned forward in her chair again. "Just tell me where."

But I wouldn't. I'd never tell. Last time I did, with the Governor, all hell broke loose on my loved ones. I'd rather die than let that happen again. Vickie was prepared to die back then, and I knew that she'd still be the same if she thought there was no way out. Carol, well she'd already admitted that it didn't matter what happened to her.

So if we were going to die today, so be it. But there was no way I was leading her to our family.

**  
**

**Chapter 19**

**The Egg, Carrot, and Coffee Beans**

**VPOV**

" _Have you thought about it?"_  dad's voice came through the walkie. " _Talk to me._ "

Paula lifted the walkie to her lips. "You weren't listening. I said I'd contact you."

" _Would it make a difference if I said I was sorry about that?"_  dad asked, static coming through after him.

"What do you think?"

" _I think we're gonna make the trade."_  dad answered. " _So, tell me where._ "

"We haven't agreed to that."

" _You will_."

"Really? I'm not so sure. We'd be taking most of the risk, not getting much in the way of a reward."

I rolled my eyes. I just didn't understand people like this. How could they live with people, survive with people, and not care about them? I would do anything for any one of the people back home. They were family. They meant something to me. But these people? They just didn't seem to care.

" _The other option won't work out for you._ "

"We'll take our chances." she told him before putting the walkie away.

I couldn't help but want to hear Daryl's voice. In all this mess, I still didn't know if he'd gotten out of the compound. I didn't know if he was okay, and that was killing me more than my own situation. I could be killed at any moment, I knew that, but if I had a single sign letting me know Daryl was okay, nothing else would matter.

"You don't have to do this." Carol spoke up again. "You don't have to fight."

"Your people killed all of my people." Molly noted, pissed. "Of course we've got to fight."

"We didn't want to." Carol told her.

"But you did. So tell me why." Paula stepped up to her.

Carol took a deep breath before answering. "Your people ambushed my people on the road. Tried to take everything we had." she shrugged. "They were gonna kill them." she cried.

"Well, damn." Molly shook her head. "So now we know what happened to T's group. Those idiots. Probably put on a big show."

"Okay." Paula nodded. "Fair play. You were just defending yourselves. But, see, your people killed them on the road, right? Blew them to pieces. So why not stop?"

"They said they were working for Negan." Carol answered.

"And what do you think you know about Negan?" Paula asked.

Carol shrugged. "He sounded like a maniac. We were scared. We had to stop him."

"Sweetie, sweetie..." Molly grinned, taking a puff from her smoke before offering it to Liz.

Liz lifted it to her lips and took a drag before lowering the smoke. "We're all Negan." she shrugged.

Carol looked to each woman. "What do you mean?"

But no one answered, instead, Molly just laughed.

Paula turned to me then, ignoring Carol. "You don't talk much, do you?" she reached forward, finally pulling my gag out of my mouth. "You got anything to say?" when I stayed silent she stood up again. "She's not gonna talk. Seems like the smart one of the group."

"I can get her to talk." Liz stepped forward. "I'll do it."

"She won't say anything. Take a look at her, Liz. She's more scarred up than anyone I've seen. The way she threw herself at Donnie." Paula shook her head. "No. She'd die before she'd give her people up."

She was right too.

 

...

 

"Can I have one?" Carol asked, looking up at Molly as she lit a cigarette.

"Well, look at you, little bird. I didn't think you approved." Molly noted as she puffed on her smoke.

"I don't." was all Carol said.

Molly pulled out a smoke and leaned forward, putting it between Carol's lips before lighting it a stepping back. I watched Paula as she watched Carol. But I could feel Liz watching me. She was always watching me.

"You are weak." Paula noted. "What are you so afraid of? You scared you can't even stick to your own principles."

"You don't want me to stick to my own principles." Carol mumbled.

My eyes looked in her direction. That was the first sign of the Carol I knew. She could do things not many people could. She would do anything, no matter the cost. I knew this first hand. I'd been beside her at Terminus, and when he Wolves attacked. We'd both do whatever it took.

Paula started pacing again then. "I was a secretary before. I fetched coffee for my boss. And I made him feel good about himself. I spent most of my days reading stupid inspirational emails to try and feel good about myself. There was this one that kept going around. A young woman was having a hard time and told her mum she wanted to give up.

"So her mum went to the kitchen ad started boiling three pots of water. She put a carrot in one, an egg in another, and ground coffee beans in the last one. After they bolded a while, her mum said, 'Look, all three things went through the same boiling water. The carrot went in strong and came out soft. The egg was fragile and came out hard. But the coffee beans changed the water itself."

She turned to look at Carol. "You're supposed to want to be the coffee beans. See, to me, coffee was just a thing that my boss would drink up. No matter how many times I refilled his damn cup, it was just never enough. I was at work when the army took over D.C. We weren't allowed to leave. They had to evacuate all the important people first. Members of Congress, government employees.

"So I was stuck with my boss. Not my family. My husband. My  _four_  girls." she looked away then. "My boss was weak and stupid and he was gonna die and he was gonna take me down, too. He was the first person I killed so that I could live. I stopped counting when I hit double digits. That's right around the time I stopped feeling back about it. I am not like you. I'm still me. But better. I lost everything and it made me stronger."

"You sure about that?" Carol asked.

"I'm alive."

"With those people? Those killers?"

"Your people are killers, Carol. Victoria here? She's a killer. That makes you a killer." Paula noted.

Carol shook her head. "You. You're the one."

"Excuse me?"

"You're the one who's afraid to die, and you're going to. You will die. That's what's gonna happen if you don't work this out."

"Are you going to kill me?" Paula asked, watching Carol with wide, surprised eyes.

Carol gave a slight shrug. "I hope not."

 

...

 

"Asshole, are you there?" Paula asked dad through the walkie.

" _I'm here._ "

"We've thought about it. We want to make the trade."

" _That's good._ "

No, honestly it wasn't. I knew with the time we'd been held by these people, and the time they'd made my people wait, they'd only agitated dad and the others. There was a very unlikely chance that these Saviours would make it out of this alive.

"There's a large field with a sign that says, ' _God is dead_ ', about two miles down I-66. Good visibility in all directions."

" _We'll meet you there. Ten minutes?"_

It was at that moment, listening to dad and watching Paula pace, that there was something different about this radio call. Dad was clear, there was no static. I could see Paula noticed this as well, and she was clearly not happy about it.

"Ten minutes." she radioed back. Putting the walkie down, she shook her head. "That was too easy."

"Maybe they're just itching to get their people back." Molly suggested.

Liz turned from her leader to me. "Maybe they've got something up their sleeve."

Paula nodded. "Liz is right. There was no static. There should've been static. They're close. They're probably already here. We were careful, but there were tracks. There had to be. They killed everybody back home. They have the weapons, they know what they're doing. They're probably waiting to kill us. As soon as we walk out those doors. That's what we'd do."

Carol shook her head. "No. You have to listen to me, please." she cried. "Rick is a man of his word. He wouldn't put me and Maggie at risk. He definitely wouldn't put Victoria at risk."

"Then he's just as stupid as you are." Paula pulled her walkie out again, changing the channel. "What's your ETA?"

" _A few minutes away, but the car's running on fumes._ " a man called through the walkie.

"We have gas." Paula told him. "We'll fill you up and then we move. Radio when you're back in the perimeter."

" _Copy that."_

Paula put her walkie away again. "We got to get ready. Pull 'Chelle out so she doesn't get stuck in a fight. You're gonna have to be ready to move at any second." she told Liz and Molly.

"What about the girl?" Molly asked. Who she was talking about, I didn't know.

"Leave her for now. If we leave, we travel light." Paula answered.

Liz looked at me suspiciously. "You wanna just leave them in here alone?"

Paula didn't even glance at Carol. She just looked right at me. "If you try anything stupid. If you do anything I don't like. I will put a bullet into Carol's head. I will make you watch her die. Do you understand?"

Slowly I lifted my head so I could look at her directly. "I understand."

"She speaks." Liz grinned.

My eyes darted to hers. "You know, out of everyone here, I dislike you the most."

Liz just scoffed. "Sweetie, out of everyone here, I'm probably more like you than the rest. I mean, mid-twenties. Check. The world turned us both hard. Check. Willing to do whatever it takes. Check. Married..." she glanced at my hand. "I saw it." she shrugged. "I may not be married, but I'm taken. Actually, my guy would probably love you. Feisty. Smart. Strong. Murderous." she flashed her teeth at me. "Only difference between us is, you're not gonna win this time. But I will."

"Come on, Liz." Paula called from the door as she and Molly were ready to go. "You can deal with her later."

Nodding, Liz backed up and turned, leaving with the other two women.

Once they were gone, Carol turned to me. "You okay?"

"Fine." I shrugged. "You think you know how to get us out of this?"

She nodded. "Grab that broken tile behind you. Use it to cut the tape. Then we'll find Maggie and get out of here."

Doing as she said, I turned around and grabbed the tile she was talking about. I noticed her sharpening the metal cross on the rosary against the ground before she used the sharpened tip to poke whole through her tape. Soon enough, we'd both managed to get ourselves free.

**MPOV**

Michelle had left some time ago. I don't know why or where to, I just knew she'd left the room, and hadn't come back. So I'd found a sharp metal thing- what it was didn't matter- and started to try and use its edge to cut through the tape tying my hands.

Suddenly the door opened, and at first I thought I'd been busted for sure. But when Carol and Vickie stepped into the room I was flooded with relief.

Carol closed the door as Vickie stepped forward, grabbing my hands. She used a broken tile she was holding to cut the rest of the tape, freeing me while Carol worked on my feet.

As soon as I could, I grabbed my best friend and pulled her into my arms. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Fine. You?"

"Fine." I looked to Carol. "Are you okay?"

"I have to be." Carol shrugged.

Pulling back, I looked at Vickie's head. Her cut was still bleeding, and I was sure the damage to her head would still be hurting. But she just looked at me reassuringly. Neither of us needed words to understand the each other.

"They've spread out, but I think we can make it past them." Carol started. "We have to try."

"We can't leave them alive." I noted.

But Carol just wanted to go. "No, we should just go."

"Carol, we have to finish this. We have to." I pressed.

"She's right." Vickie agreed.

Sighing, Carol reluctantly nodded. "Fine."

**VPOV**

We walked back into the room we'd been held in, Maggie stepping up to Donnie as he laid on the ground motionless. Crouching down, she untied the rope around his arm, planning on letting him bleed out and kill him. But it was too late.

Maggie checked his pulse. "He was already dead. He's turning."

"We should go." Carol clearly didn't want to do what we all knew we had to do.

"We need a gun." Maggie commented.

I nodded. "And there is no way in hell I'm leaving without my knife. Not after the shit they've put us through today. That Liz bitch has got it." that knife was more important to me than my wedding ring. It was the real symbol of Daryl's and my relationship. Our real totem.

Looking to the rope in Carol's hand, Maggie gestured to it. "Give me that."

Carol handed it over, and Maggie got to work, looping the rope through Donnie's jeans.

 

...

 

We waited behind the corner, hearing Molly scream out, we knew the plan had worked. She would have walked into the room, and Donnie would have bitten her.

I help Maggie back, seeing her about to move forward. "I got this." I told her before starting forward.

I stepped into the room, behind Molly, grabbed her and wrapped my arm around her neck in a choke hold. Once I got her knife out of her hand and into mine, I pulled my arm up and hit her on the head, knocking her out and onto the ground.

Kneeling over her, I searched through her clothes and found Carol's knife and her own gun. Using the butt of the gun, I smashed it against her face over and over. Blood sprayed, some getting my face as I continued my assault until I was sure she was dead.

Pulling back I offered Carol her knife and the gun. "Here. You're gonna need it." I brushed my hair behind my ear, probably wiping blood onto my face in the process.

Carol took her knife and the gun without a word.

Maggie nodded at me. "Ready?"

I gave her a sharp nod back. "Ready."

 

...

 

We made our way through the halls, trying to find our way out. We knew we had the others to deal with, but knowing an exit was the smart thing to do, especially if our people really were here.

Although we hadn't expected to find a bunch of walkers stuck to broken pipes, some on the ground with their legs broken. They were stuck, unable to move, and blocking our path.

"They're using them to keep us in, keep the others out." Carol noted.

"Come on." Maggie placed a hand on my arm. "We have to find them."

A walked started for us and Maggie dealt with it easy enough. But once the walker fell, gunshots started.

"Down." I grabbed both Maggie and Carol, pulling them down.

We hid behind a small machine until the gunshots stopped. Then Carol stepped out, her guns raised, aimed at Paula as she kept walking towards us, clearly pissed.

"Just run." Carol told her.

"Shoot her." Maggie looked to our friend.

Paula shrugged. "Go on. Do it. You've killed Donnie. You've killed Molly. Your people have  _destroyed_  my home."

Carol shook her head. "Get out of here."

"Carol." Maggie warned.

"You have no idea the things I've done, what I've given up, what I had to do." Paula kept coming, step by step.

"Just run." Carol was almost begging.

"Carol, shoot her." Maggie told her again.

"If you don't, I will." I offered.

"Go ahead." Paula didn't seem to care. "I've already lost everything."

None of us had seen it, but a walker had gotten free from one of the pipes, and went for Carol. Carol's gun went off, wounding Paula, as Carol herself stumbled forward. I grabbed the walker, smashing its head against the wall, killing it quickly.

"Paula!" Michelle called, coming our way.

"Paula, where are you?" Liz must have been with her.

Maggie and I stepped up to the corner, waiting for them to get closer. We listened as they opened the doors to the room we'd been in.

"Molly?" Michelle sounded shocked, but not too upset.

"Bitch." Liz snarled.

We could hear them getting closer now, their steps closing in.

Maggie and I both moved fast, her going for Michelle while I went for Liz. I didn't have a chance to make sure Maggie had it handled, because I had my own crap to deal with at that moment.

I kicked out at Liz, pushing her back a few steps and away from Maggie and Michelle before I went her again. She had  _my_  knife out, swish it towards me, trying to get some I kept dodging as I looked for my moment.

She lost her footing for a second, but it was long enough for me to grab her arm, snap it over my leg and make her drop my knife.

"Ah!" she yelled out, falling to the ground. "You bitch!" she kicked out, tripping me over.

As I laid on my back, on the ground, I felt my hand land on the blade of my knife. Adjusting my hold, I grabbed the handle of my knife, ready to attack. That's when we heard the gunshot.

We both looked over, seeing Carol holding her gun, standing over a dead Michelle.

"No!" Liz yelled.

With her distracted, I acted quickly, lifting my knife and grabbing the side of her head before driving the blade into her neck. She didn't die right away and as I pulled the knife out of her, blood sprayed over my clothes and skin. Then I let her go, letting her drop to the floor where she bled out. Leaning forward I quickly stabbed her in the head, to keep her from turning, before I put my knife away.

Getting to my feet, I rushed over to Maggie. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I think so."

The sound of Paula groaning had my muscle tense. I adjusted my grip on my knife and went to turn, ready to kill her once and for all.

But Carol stopped me. "I'll do it." she said before raising her gun at the woman and moving forward.

Paula laughed. "You're good. Nervous little bird." she struggled to get to her feet. "You were her. But not now, right?" she nodded. "Me, too."

Carol shook her head. "I told you to run."

"If you could do all this, what were you so afraid of, Carol?"

Carol took a few steps closer. "I was afraid of this."

Paula just laughed again, turning away. The next thing happened so quickly, I barely had time to register what was happening.

Carol had gotten too close, giving Paula the chance to knock the gun form her grasp and grab on to Carol. The two women struggled as Paula held Carol against the wall. Then Carol got the upper hand, throwing Paula against the opposite wall and pressing her hand against the bullet wound she'd given the woman.

Paula yelled out in pain and went to push Carol away, but Carol stepped back and let Paula throw all her weight forward, causing her to be skewered by one of the broken pipes before a walker bit into her cheek.

Paula's screams filled the halls, echoing off the walls.

" _Paula, we're approaching the perimeter. Are we a go?_ " someone called through the walkie. Carol reached forward, taking it off Paula's belt as someone spoke again. " _Do you copy?_ "

Looking to Maggie and me, Carol lifted the walkie to her lips. It took her a moment to collect herself before she spoke. "Meet us on the kill floor." she told them, imitating Paula's voice.

 

...

 

We'd set everything up and were waiting in a darkened room by the kill floor, listening for the other Saviours that would be here any moment now.

"I think I might have killed eighteen people. Twenty." Carol whispered.

I looked at her shocked. I'd never counted the amount of people I'd killed. I just did it and then tried not to think about it again- which was impossible. But now that she'd said that, it had me wondering...

"I should have killed Donnie, too, in the woods." she went on. "I had a clear shot. I didn't miss." she shook her head. "None of this would've happened if I had just killed him."

"Don't think about it." Maggie told her.

"I can't stop."

Maggie looked to her. "We're almost done."

The sound of footsteps approaching had me quickly reach forward and close the door a little more so no one would see us. We watched then as six people walked past the door, heading for the kill floor. Heading for our trap.

"Careful. The floor's slick." a man spoke.

"You sure this is it?" another asked.

"She said 'kill floor'." the first man noted.

Carol pulled out a smoke then, lighting it with the lighter we'd gotten off Molly. I could see the struggle she was having internally. I knew she couldn't do this anymore. I knew it was all finally getting to her.

"Hey, this one's locked." a new voice noted.

Before Maggie or Carol could move, I reached forward, snatched the cigarette out of Carol's mouth, and opened the door. I threw myself at the next door, where the people were in a room. Sliding the door across, I threw the cigarette inside at the last moment, tossing it on to the fuel we'd dumped in there, before shutting and locking them in.

They screamed and pounded against the door, yelling and shouting for help. My insides twisted as I thought about Carol's list, and how I'd just added six bodies to my own...

"Let's go." Maggie grabbed my arm, giving me a look I knew was meant for comfort.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah."

The three of us moved down the hall heading back towards where we'd left the walkers. As we passed a turn I looked down and saw Liz and Michelle still on the ground. But I just kept going.

Maggie and I quickly dealt with the walkers blocking the path as Carol stayed behind us.

She was still processing, and I was willing to give that to her. She'd been through enough to have a breather for once.

Continuing down the hall, we finally came to the exit. Carol pulled the door open while Maggie and I stood side by side, guns raised just in case. There was no way we were letting some random assholes waiting outside, keep us from getting back to our family and home.

But as the doors opened and we saw people standing there, guns raised at us. I felt myself almost sob with relief.

Daryl dropped his gun and pushed forward, grabbing and pulling me to him. His hand cupped the back of my head and the other wrapped around my waist as he held me close and tight.

"You okay?" he asked, pulling back. His eyes landed on my cheek, his thumb brushing under the cut gently.

"Fine." I told him, exhausted.

"We got your trail. You start a fire?"

"Yeah." I nodded before leaning forward to rest my head against his shoulder.

He pulled back, lifting my chin up so I'd look at him. "You good?"

I shook my head. "No. No, I'm not."

"Come here." he pulled me closer again, holding me to him.

"They're dead. They're all dead. The ones that took us." Maggie told Glenn as the two hugged behind us. "They're all dead."

"Are you okay?" Glenn asked her.

"I just... I can't anymore." Maggie's voice shook.

"Your friends are dead. No one's coming for you." dad spoke. I pulled away from Daryl to see my dad talking to a man I hadn't seen. "So you might as well talk."

Daryl shook his head. "Let him burn." his hold on my tightened.

Dad looked from Daryl and then back to the stranger- I was guessing he was Primo. "I'm gonna ask you one last time. How'd you get the bike?"

Primo shrugged. "We found it."

"Like hell you did." Daryl went to step forward.

I grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Don't."

"We found it." Primo insisted.

"Was Negan in that building last night, or was he here?" dad asked.

Primo turned to him. "Both. I'm Negan, shithead. There's a whole world of fun that we can talk about. So let's have a chat."

Dad stepped back. "I'm sorry it had to come to this." he lifted his gun and shot the guy.

I jumped at the sound, watching as Primo fell to the floor. Slowly, I looked up at my dad, shaking my head. "He was lying, dad... he wasn't Negan. Negan's still out there."

**  
**

**Chapter 20**

**Edison's Apothecary and Boutique**

**VPOV**

It had been a few days since the Saviours. I hadn't said anything to Daryl. Hadn't told anyone what Carol, Maggie and I had to do. I hadn't left Alexandria since that day as well. I needed to be with family. I needed to be home.

After we'd gotten back, I'd gone straight to bed and slept for an entire day. I hadn't eaten, or spoken. I just laid in bed, even when I wasn't sleeping. Daryl had been worried, of course, and pressed me to tell him what had happened. But I refused. I didn't want to relive it.

He'd then told me about what had happened to him, on the road, when he was dealing with the walker herd. How he'd been taken by people in a burnt forest. How he was sure they were Saviours. They'd taken his crossbow and his motorbike. They'd left him in the middle of nowhere with nothing to defend himself with.

But he'd still gotten home. He'd still made it back to me. I was sure we would always find each other. Time had proven we'd always make it back to each other, no matter the circumstances.

I was out of bed now, finally up and ready to move on from it all. But Maggie and dad both agreed I wasn't ready to do any jobs yet, so I was just plotting around the house, doing small chores here and there.

Daryl refused to go out when I was home. Now that I was up and about, he wanted to be close by, just in case. So, he'd planted himself out the front of the house and got to work on his motorbike. I hadn't even realized he'd gotten it back until a few days after everything.

"Mummy." Aly walked down the stairs, holding a ball. "I don't like baseball." she said matter of factly.

I'd given her the metal baseball bat I'd found the day dad, Daryl and myself met Jesus. A few people had been trying to teach her how to play baseball- Abraham, Tara, Carl, Sasha, Rosita. But I'd noticed that no matter who was trying to teach her, she never seemed to be that interested.

I'd been sitting at the dining table sharpening my knife. Putting it to the side, I turned to my daughter. "How come, sweetie?"

She shrugged. "Every time I hit the ball, Dini runs after it and then it's all slippery and slobbery." her face turned up in disgust.

"Then we'll tie Houdini up when we play." I suggested.

But she shook her head, not liking that idea at all. "I like Dini better than some silly game."

I smiled down at her, brushing some hair behind her ear. "Okay. Should I give the bat to Carl then?"

She looked at me like I was crazy. "I don't think he'd be very good... He can only see half the ball."

Biting back a laugh, I nodded my head. "Tell you what. Why don't I use it when I go out? I broke a truck window with it before. Maybe it'll be handy again."

"You can kill walkers with it too." she noted.

I nodded. "Yes, I could."

"Okay, well, I'm gonna go find Abraham before he goes out with Eugene. I wanna show him a new trick I learnt with Tara's yoyo. She's letting me take care of it while she's away with the boy with funny hair."

"His name is Heath. And I know Tara's letting you borrow it. You've told me a few times now, sweetie." I reminded her as I got up and we started to walk to the front door.

"Oh, right." she shrugged. "I still wanna show Abraham. He was very happy that I kept an eye on Eugene. He told me I could hang out with him whenever I wanted."

"Well you go do that. But remember he's got stuff to do today."

"I know, mum. Bye." she waved as she rushed out fo the room.

Houdini had been sitting on the porch, watching Daryl, but he got up and rushed after the little girl as she ran down the stairs.

"Bye, Daryl. Hi, Carol. Bye, Carol." she called before she disappeared.

I stayed where I was standing, watching as Carol stepped up to Daryl, who was still working on his bike. They didn't know I was there, or that I could hear them, and I felt guilty for eavesdropping, but I couldn't help it.

**DPOV**

I'd been going over my bike when I found a little solider carved out of wood in the bag hanging from the bike. It was exactly like that one I'd gotten from those people in the forest months ago...

The sound of the front door opening and closing pulled my attention away from the toy as I watched Aly rush down the stairs. Houdini had been sitting on the porch, watching me, but got up and rushed after her once she was on the road.

"Bye, Daryl. Hi, Carol. Bye, Carol." she called before she disappeared.

Carol smiled, waving at the little girl, before she sat next to me. "Didn't even notice. Got your bike back."

"Yeah." I nodded before gesturing to the smoke in her hand. "You got another one of those?"

She pulled one out for me and handed it over. "Those people you met, the ones in the burnt forest, they took it from you?" she asked.

At first, I hadn't told Vic what happened to me out on the road, because I wasn't sure if she'd want to know, if she could handle anymore at the time. But then days and weeks and months went by without us telling each other and by then, it just felt too late.

She knew now, though, which helped ease some guilt I'd been feeling.

I'd told Carol, and she'd told me things too. Like how Morgan had kept one of the Wolves alive in the cell. Like how the Wolf had gotten out and taken Denise as hostage. I'd wanted to tell Rick, but Carol asked me not to. I would have if she hadn't of asked, but I could tell she didn't want anyone else to know, and so I'd kept quiet.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"You saved them, right?" even though I didn't say anything, she still knew. "Sorry. It's who you are. We're still stuck with that."

I shook my head. "No, we ain't." I looked at her. "I should've killed him."

Sighing, she got to her feet, leaving her smokes next to me. I didn't question it. She'd done it on purpose, I knew that. But there was one question I had for her.

"Hey." I called and she turned back to me. "The ones that took you, Maggie and Vic, what'd they do to you?"

Vic hadn't told me. She hadn't told anyone. I'd asked Rick, Carl, Michonne. I'd asked anyone I'd thought she might tell. But no one knew. Maggie must've been keeping Glenn quiet, but I was sure he knew. But neither of them were saying anything either. So I thought I'd try asking Carol.

"To us?" she shrugged. "They didn't do anything." she answered before turning around and leaving.

 

...

 

"After I got out of DC, I just drove." Denise explained.

She'd come by the house with Rosita, wanting to know if I'd go with them outside the gates. When Vic realised people were outside with me, she'd come out to listen, standing on the bottom step of the porch next to me.

"I remember seeing it right when I realized I had no idea where I was going.  _Edison's Apothecary and Boutique_." Denise looked form me, to Rosita, to Vic and then me again. "It's just this little gift shop in a strip mall. But if it's really an apothecary, they had drugs."

"How do you know they still got 'em?" I asked. There was no point in us going out if we weren't going to bring something back.

Denise shrugged. "It isn't that far. I just want to check. And you, Vickie and Rosita aren't out scavenging or pulling shifts."

I nodded. "We'll go."

But Denise didn't look to happy about that. "I wanted to check. I just wanted to help."

"How much time you spent out there?" I gestured to the walls.

"None." she answered.

I shook my head. "Forget it."

"I can ID the meds." she argued. "I know how to use a machete now. I've seen roamers up close. I'm ready."

I looked to Rosita. "You good with this?"

"No." Rosita answered as if it was obvious.

"I'll go alone if I have to." Denise warned.

"You'll die alone." I noted.

"No, she won't." Vic sighed. "I'll go with her. She's just gonna go anyway."

I turned to her sharply. "No, you ain't going. You're not ready."

"Daryl." she stepped off the stairs and moved closer to me. "You won't let her go out there by herself. We both know that. But I don't want you going out there without me. You go, I go, remember?"

When I looked to Rosita, silently asking for help, she just shook her head. "I'm not babysitting her by myself." she noted, talking about Denise.

Looking back to Vic I thought about my options but came up dry. I had no real choice.

"Fine." I groaned, not liking this one bit.

**VPOV**

We'd all piled into a duel-cab pick-up. Daryl and Denise sat in the front- so he could drive and she could direct. While Rosita and I sat in the back. It had become apparent, very early in the drive, that Daryl did not know how to handle this vehicle. Its screeching gears was a sure sign of that fact.

"It- uh..." Denise went to speak but stopped herself.

Daryl turned to her. "What?"

She shook her head. "Forget it."

"No. What?" he pressed.

"I think maybe you're disengaging it too soon." she noted. When he turned to look at her she quickly added, "I've been driving stick since I was fifteen, usually beat-up trucks like this. I mean, before I left home. My brother taught me, so I just know."

Yet Daryl just kept doing what he'd been doing, ignoring her suggestion. I was starting to think that maybe he was doing it on purpose.

Looking out the window, I felt a grin slip onto my lips… until my eyes landed on something coming up on the road.

"Daryl."

He nodded to me. "Yep." slowly, he came to a stop in front of the fall tree. Once we'd stopped completely he turned to Denise. "Stay here."

She did as he said as the rest of us got out of the vehicle, moving to check the damage and to make sure it wasn't a trap.

"This happened fast." Rosita pointed out as she removed some branches from a walker stuck under the tree. "Tree rotted out. It wasn't people."

"Still." I shrugged. "There's no way we're gonna be able to move it, or go around it." I looked to Daryl.

He gestured to the car. "Get Denise."

I nodded and headed off to the vehicle, opening her door. "Come on, it's clear. We gotta walk it." I held the door open for her as she got out.

"What'd you find?" she asked as we stepped up to the others.

"Bottles of booze." Rosita held up a bag. "Any takers?"

Denise shook her head. "No thanks."

"Me neither." I added.

"For later." Rosita explained. "I'm not bringing these to the pantry."

But Denise was adamant. "I'm good. They were kind of my parents' thing. Which is way they aren't mine." she told us as she pulled out the map from her bag.

"Come on, let's walk." Daryl gestured for us to follow as he headed for the tree line.

"Hold up." Denise called. "Looks like a straight shot if we follow the tracks." she gestured to the train tracks we stood by.

Daryl shook his head. "No. No tracks. We'll take the road."

"That's twice as far." Rosita argued.

Daryl turned to her. "Go whichever way you like. I ain't taking no tracks." he snapped before walking off.

I didn't even have to think about it. There was no way I was following the tracks either, not after what happened the last time I followed some train tracks... they lead me straight to a community of cannibals.

So I followed Daryl without a word and without hesitation. I'd help Denise out, but I was not going against my instincts, and my instincts were telling me to keep off the tracks.

**DPOV**

We walked along the road, Vic just a step behind me and to my side, Denise on her other side. We didn't talk, we just walked.

When we caught up to Rosita, we found her sitting on the side of the road by the tracks, waiting for us. As we got closer, she stood.

"About time."

I just ignored her and kept walking. Vic stepped up to my side as Denise stopped to talk to Rosita. But Vic didn't say anything. She hadn't said much since the Saviours. It was killing me, not knowing what happened to her.

When we found her, she'd been covered in blood. It was a common occurrence. Most of the times we'd been separated and found each other again, she had blood on her. Her own or someone else's, either way, she seemed to have blood on her most of the time.

"Why'd you bring the bat?" I asked, seeing that she'd left her machete at home and brought the metal baseball bat with her instead.

She shrugged. "Aly suggested it."

"What else you got with you?" I needed to make sure she was ready for anything.

She lifted her shirt to show me her knife. "My knife." she tugged on the strap over her shoulder. "Semi-automatic rifle." she tapped her back. "Hand gun."

I gave a short nod. "Good."

"I'm fine Daryl." I looked at her as she went on. "I know you're worried about me. But you don't have to be. I'm fine."

Shaking my head, I turned back to the road. "No, you ain't."

**VPOV**

We walked up to the store, Daryl stepping forward to knock on the glass to make sure there was nothing inside. I stood back with Denise and Rosita, watching our surroundings. There was no way I was letting someone get the jump on us.

After he'd knock and nothing happened, Daryl turned back to us. "All right. Me, Vic and Rosita are gonna do this." he told Denise. "You're gonna stay back, got it?"

She nodded, knowing how dangerous this could be.

Lifting my rifle as Rosita lifted her gun, we got ready as Daryl pulled out a crowbar from his bag and lifted it to the door to open it.

The door flung open and Daryl stepped in with Rosita and I right behind him for back up. We slowly ventured into the small store, keeping an eye out just in case. I ignored the smell wafting through the room, having gotten used to it by now.

By Denise wasn't used to it, which was made clear when she gaged and nearly threw up.

Daryl turned to her. "We gonna find out what you had for breakfast?"

"Oatmeal." she answered. "Just so you know."

Shaking my head, a little grin playing on my lips, I moved to a roller shutter over a bench. "You think this might be it?"

Daryl stepped up beside me with a shrug. "Only one way to find out." dumping his bag on the ground, he lifted the crowbar again, setting it between the shutter and bench in order to push the shutter up and open the window.

"You find any polaroid films, grab them. Aly will run out eventually." I called over my shoulder at Denise, seeing as she was still looking at the displays and stuff.

Rosita was behind Daryl and me though. Ready for anything still. Waiting for Daryl to get the shutter open.

"You want me to hold your bags or..." Denise let her voice trail as she watched us.

We all ignored her was Daryl finally got the shutter open, revealing a small pharmacy stocked full of medicines.

"Come on." Daryl grunted, climbing on to the bench and offering me his hand as he helped me up and over carefully.

I could have done it myself, but I knew he needed me to need him right now. He wasn't feeling right with everything, and I wasn't feeling right with everything. So being able to get help from him meant more than he realized. Being able to help, meant more to him than I'd understand.

"If you set 'em on the counted I can tell you which." Denise offered.

Daryl shook her head. "No, we're gonna take it all."

"Are you sure?" Denise asked. "Because-"

Rosita cut her off, climbing over the counter. "No, it's fine."

We started filling our bags up with the medicines, trying to grab everything, or at least a few of each type. There was no need not to take it. We might need it again later, and then it might be too late.

The sound of light thudding had us all stop and turn to a supply closet door.

"It's just one." Rosita noted before getting back to the pills.

Daryl nodded. "It sounds like it's stuck."

"Not worth our time." I shrugged, joining the others back at the shelves of pills.

Crouching down on the ground, I grabbed all the lower thing, trying to keep my mind on the task at hand. But try as I might, I still found myself thinking about other stuff.

I was wondering about the Hilltop. What would they do when they realized we hadn't killed Negan? After they gave us food, did it matter that he wasn't dead. We did save their guy at least. But Gregory didn't seem to care about him much.

I was wondering about having a baby. Was there any medicine in this pharmacy that could help me? I still hadn't told Daryl the truth yet, And I was really hoping I wouldn't have to. If I could just get my hands on something that might make our chances better.

I was wondering about the Saviours. Had Paula gotten word out about us? I was sure they wouldn't know who we were, but I was worried they might be looking for someone. Or maybe they'd just take it out on the Hilltop and other weak communities.

I was wondering about Heath and Tara. Were they safe? I'd seen them after I'd left the Saviour compound, but I hadn't seen them since Paula and her people had taken us. I was worried about them, and hoping they still make it back like they were supposed to.

A crash and the sound of glass shattering pulled me from my thoughts. Getting to my feet I looked over at Denise as she turned to us, with fear, guilt and something else in her eyes I couldn't quite read.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rosita snapped.

Denise shook her head. "Nothing." she mumbled before hurrying out of the store.

I watched as the door closed behind her. "I'll go." sighing, I dumped my bag on the counter. "Fill this up if yours get too full." I told them before jumping over the counter.

They didn't ask questions or say anything. Rosita didn't mind, I think she didn't actually care. Daryl knew I couldn't leave Denise the way she was, and he knew there was no point in arguing. So they kept grabbing the medicine and let me go.

As I walked out I found Denise sitting off to the side, leaning against the wall of the building, looking down at a key chain, name tag in her hand. As I got closer, I read the name 'Dennis' on it."

Sliding down against the wall, I took a seat next to her. "You wanna talk about it?"

"You won't talk about what happened to you. So why should I?"

I flinched. I hadn't realized the news of my silence was a well-known fact. But I recovered quickly, shrugging. "I can handle staying quiet. Can you?" I turned my head to look at her.

Sighing, she shook her head. "I don't know how you guys do it."

"Do what?"

" _This_." she gestured to the store behind us. "The Saviours. Hilltop. Going out scavenging. Fighting walkers, people, everything. How do you keep doing it?"

Nodding, I leaned back, looking out at the vacant parking lot. "Most of us adapted. Some of us were already like this... survivors."

"Were you?"

"Nope." I answered simply.

"What changed you?"

"You remember what I told everyone during the girls' night? How I was out here on my own her eight months?" I asked, and she nodded. "Remember my scars?" she nodded again. "Well, I was attacked. By a group of men. They were going to kill me. I knew I had to fight for my life. And so I did." I shrugged. "There just comes a point where you realize you can't rely on others anymore."

She looked away then, the two of us falling silent.

When I saw her quietly crying next to me, I rested a hand on her knee for support but didn't say anything. She needed this moment, and I wasn't going to take it away from her.

The store door opened and Denise looked away to wipe her tear from her cheeks as Daryl and Rosita stepped out, coming to a stop at the sight of the two of us on the ground.

"Hey." Daryl called, both Denise and I turned to him as he looked to Denise. "You did good finding this place."

Denise just nodded, letting go of my hand, wiping away more tears.

We both got to our feet, without a word. I think all four of us just wanted to go home now. The day hadn't been long, and nothing big had happened, but I still felt emotionally drained.

"Tried to tell you, you weren't ready." Rosita shrugged, though still managed to sound sympathetic. "We all did."

"I know." Denise's voice broke as she spoke.

"Come on." I gestured to the road. "Let's get out of here."

Not needing any more encouragement, the four of us started off, heading towards home.

**  
**

**Chapter 21**

**Forty**

**DPOV**

"So, was he older or younger?"

Denise turned to me as we walked along the road. "Older. By six minutes."

I remembered she'd talked about a brother, and I saw the name tag she'd gotten from the shop. It was clear she was upset about something, so I put two and two together, hoping I was right. Which it seemed I was.

She kept going. "My parents came up with the Dennis-Denise thing on one of their benders. Hilarious, right?" she turned back to the road. "Nothing scared him. He was brave. He was angry, too. It's kind of a dangerous combination."

"Sounds like we had the same brother." I noted.

Merle and I had always been close. We were all we had growing up. Our father was a useless asshole, our mother a wreck that passed early on. Merle was the only family I'd had.

When that day came along, and I found him as a walker, and I had to kill him… it broke me in two. If it wasn't for Vic and our people, I don't think I would have lasted much longer. If I'd been on my own, I would have done something stupid for sure.

I'd never really talked about killing Merle. Vic knew, and a few others did too. But I never told them exactly what happened. I didn't need to. They all understood. I did what I had to do.

Reaching the crossing of the train tracks and road, I came to a stop before moving to follow the tracks.

"Hey." Rosita called.

I turned to see all three women watching me, confused. "This way's faster, right?" I shrugged and turned to continue walking.

After a moment or two, Vic came to stand next to me, sliding her hand into mine. I looked down, a little shocked, but didn't speak just in case it ruined the moment. Instead I just turned my eyes to hers, finding her watching the path ahead. Setting my gaze back to the tracks, I did the same, knowing the others were right behind us.

**VPOV**

"There's a cooler in there!" Denise called. "Might be something we can use inside."

Daryl, Rosita and myself turned to see she was a few feet away, standing by some abandoned cars off to the side, pointing into the window of one.

"We got what we came for." Rosita told her.

Daryl shook his head. "Nah, ain't worth the trouble, come on." he said before we started down the tracks again.

I hesitated a moment longer, watching Denise turn back to the car. I could see she wasn't too sure about following us. I could see she wanted to get the cooler. But when she started to move, I assumed she was going to follow us, so I turned with the others and kept walking.

I stood between Daryl and Rosita as we walked, my hand holding Daryl's. I hadn't really thought about it when I grabbed it. I'd just wanted to let him know that I was there, that I was okay, that he didn't have to worry.

He hadn't said anything, and I was sure that was because he was worried that if he did, it would make me let go. But it wouldn't. I could tell how much he needed to know I was alright. After listening to him and Carol this morning, I knew that not knowing was killing him.

My train of thought was interrupted at the sound of a commotion behind us.

We turned and saw Denise on the ground, struggling against a walker that was on top of her. It must have been in the cooler car, because the door was open now, and the cooler was on the ground.

Moving fast we ran towards her, getting weapons out, getting ready to defend and save her.

By the time we reached her, Denise had managed to roll over, getting on top of the walker. But she was still struggling against it.

Daryl got to her first, knife in hand.

She turned to him quickly. "No, don't!"

Doing as she said, we all stepped back, watching her try to stab the thing with her knife. It took a moment, but soon enough, she managed to kill the walker. When she was done she looked up at us and got to her feet, out of breath. Stepping to the side, she hunched over and threw up.

"Oh, man." she sighed straightening up. "I threw up on my glasses." she told us before picking her glasses up from the dirt and vomit.

We just stood there, watching as she turned around, cleaning her glasses and moving to the cooler. Crouching down, she opened it, looking inside and pulling out a six pack or sodas.

"Hot damn." she shook her head as she pulled an orange soda from the pack.

"What the hell was that?" Daryl asked, pissed. "You could've died right there, you know that?

She nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"Are you hearing me?" Daryl was clearly getting angrier by the second.

I rested a hand on his arm. "Daryl..."

He shook his head. "No. She almost died just then!"

"Who gives a shit?" Denise snapped. "You could've died killing those Saviours, all of you, but you didn't! You wanna live, you take chances. That's how it works." she gestured to me. "You said it yourself. There comes a time when you have to stop relying on others. That's what I did."

I shook my head, looking away. I'd told her that, yes. It had only been a couple of hours ago. But I hadn't meant for her to take charge of her life  _now_. If she died because of some stupid words that came out of my mouth, I'd never forgive myself.

"For a couple of damn sodas?" Daryl shook his head.

"Nope." standing up, carrying the drinks, she moved towards him. "Just this one." she showed him the orange can and kept walking, right past us.

"Are you seriously that stupid?" Rosita started, following her to the tracks.

Daryl and I were right behind them.

Denise stopped and turned to us. "Are you? I mean it, are you? Do you have any clue what that was to me, what this whole thing is to me? See, I have training in this shit. I'm not making it up as I go along like with the stitches and the sugar and the..." she shook her head looking to Daryl. "I asked you to come with me because you're brave like my brother and sometimes you actually make me feel safe." she gestured to me. "I asked you to come because you were one of my first friends, and I know you get it." she turned to Rosita. "And I wanted you here because you're alone. Probably for the first time in your life. And because you're stronger than you think you are, which gives me hope that maybe I can be, too."

We'd all heard about Rosita and Abraham. How he'd left her right before we went to the Saviours' compound. Eugene had told Tara that he'd overheard Abraham that night. Apparently, the redhead had said, 'When I first met you, I thought you were the last woman on Earth. You're not'.

The fact Abraham had left Rosita like that had me wondering about Daryl. What if he found someone better than me? Even though we'd been together for ages now, I couldn't help but wonder when we'd end. I wasn't stupid, everything ends eventually. I just hoped it wouldn't be because of someone else.

Denise went on. "I could've gone with Tara. I could've told her I loved her, but I didn't, because I was afraid. That's what's stupid. Not coming out here, not facing my shit. And it makes me sick that you guys aren't even trying, because you're strong and you're smart, and you're all really good people. And if you don't wake up-"

It came out of nowhere. One second, we were listening to Denise, and the next second there was an arrow sticking out of her eye.

My insides went cold as I watched Daryl grab her, helping her to the ground. Rosita and I acted fast, grabbing our guns, aiming them at the tree line behind Denise, watching as a group of men stepped out with their own guns raised at us… and Eugene, who was being pushed forward by one who was clearly the leader.

"You drop 'em now!" the leader ordered.

As I did what he said I looked him up and down. My eyes scanned over the burnt section on his face and locked on to the crossbow in his hands. The crossbow, it was a dead giveaway...

I shook my head. "You son of a bitch."

Daryl grabbed my arm before I could move, putting himself in front of me slightly. His body language said a million things, but there was no doubt in my mind that my gut was right. The leader was the guy Daryl had met in the burnt woods. He was the guy that took everything from him and left him stranded.

The leader didn't miss Daryl's protective nature towards me, but chose to ignore it for now as he looked at Daryl. "Well, hell."

Daryl was pissed. I wondered if the only reason he wasn't attacking the guy was because of Eugene, Rosita and myself. Otherwise I was sure he would have started something by now.

"You got something to say to me?" the leader asked Daryl. "You gonna clear the air? Step up on that high horse?" when Daryl didn't say anything, he shook his head. "No. You don't talk much." he turned to three of his men, nodding at them.

The three men stepped forward, one moving to each of us, patting us down and taking our weapons. The guy dealing with me stopped as he took my bag which had my bat sticking out of it. He looked surprised and impressed. But at that moment I didn't care. It was when he took my knife that I knew I was going to kill him.

As the guys stripped our weapons and things, the leader kept talking, gesturing to the crossbow in his hands. "Still getting the hang of her. Kicks like a bitch, but-"

Daryl cut him off. "I should've done it."

"What's that? Seriously, I didn't catch what you said."

"I should've killed you." Daryl told him.

The leader nodded. "Yeah, you probably should've."

Worried about what Daryl might do, I slipped my hand into his, telling him not to do something stupid, but letting him know I was there if he needed me.

The leader looked from Daryl, to me, and then back to Daryl. "This your girl?" he nodded, looking me up and down. "Nice." he shrugged. "Sorry about your friend there, darlin'. I get that you'll just have to take my word for this, but she wasn't even the one I was aiming for." he grinned as he looked to Daryl again.

I understood what he was saying, and suddenly it was me everyone should worry about doing something stupid. "You son of a bitch!" I snapped, going to move forward.

Daryl held me back as all guns pointed to me.

"She's a feisty one." the leader chuckled. "What's your name?" when I refused to speak, he gestured to Eugene kneeling in front of him. "If you don't answer, your friend gets a bullet. So I'll ask again. What. Is. Your. Name?"

"Victoria." I gritted out.

"Victoria." he nodded. "Well, I'm D. Or Dwight. You can call me either." he said before gesturing to Daryl. "About him. It's nothing personal. This isn't how we like to start new business arrangements, but you pricks kinda set the tone, didn't you?"

"What do you want?" Rosita spoke up.

Dwight turned to her. "I'm sorry darlin', I didn't catch your name. So, what is it?"

"Rosita." she answered. "What do you want?"

"Well, Ro-si-ta, it's not what I want, it's what you, Daryl and Victoria are going to do. You're going to let us into your little complex. It looks like it's just beautiful in there. And then you're going to let us take whatever and whoever we want." Dwight's eyes looked to Daryl and myself then before turning back to Rosita. "Or we blow Eugene's brains out. And then yours. And then his." he nodded to Daryl. "But not you." his eyes fell on me. "I think I know someone who'd like you."

Daryl's grip on my arm tightened at the threat. After what happened to me at Grady, and with the Governor at Woodbury, and after the farm, and with Shane at the CDC... Daryl didn't take threats like that lightly.

Dwight shrugged. "I hope it doesn't come to that, really. Nobody else has to die. Just try to start with one. You know, maximum impact to get our point across. So, what's it gonna be? You tell me."

"You wanna kill someone, you start with our companion hiding over there behind the oil barrels." Eugene spoke up, nodding to said barrels. "He's a first-class a-hole and he deserves it so much more than us four."

All eyes turned to the barrels as we tried to spot who Eugene might have been talking about. I knew he'd come out with Abraham, but with the solider nowhere in sight, I though Eugene must have wandered off without him and gotten lost before getting caught.

Dwight dropped the cross bow and pulled out his gun. "Go check it out." he told some of his men.

All eyes were on the barrel when Dwight suddenly screamed out.

Looking over at him we saw Eugene biting Dwight's crotch before someone started shooting form the tree lines, killing some of Dwight's guys.

"Come on." Daryl tugged on my arm.

Rosita, Daryl and myself acted fast, moving to the guys that took our weapons.

I grabbed my knife from where it sat on the ground by his feet. Getting back up, I quickly slit the guy's throat before grabbing my guns. Once I had them I turned and rushed to the opposite side of the tracks, dashing behind the abandoned cars.

Behind cover, I started shooting at the Saviours as Daryl came to crouch by me, shooting as well. Rosita was by the car next to us. All the while, Eugene still had a firm bite on Dwight's junk.

I just kept my eyes on the men shooting at us as I shot at them. I would have gone for Dwight, but I couldn't risk getting Eugene.

Eventually Dwight pulled Eugene from him, knocking our friend away before ducking to the ground, trying to use the tracks as cover. I tried shooting him but couldn't seem to get a hit. However, I kept trying, needing this asshole dead.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Dwight yelled over the gunshots.

I moved back to reload my gun as Daryl kept shooting. Once I was done I got back up, just as Daryl ran out of ammo. But as he went to reload and I got back up, I saw Dwight aiming straight for Daryl's head.

"No!"

I pushed Daryl out of the way and got to my feet, shooting at Dwight, letting my finger pull the trigger until I was out of ammo and his men were gone.

"Son of a bitch." rushing past Daryl and the cars I got to the tracks, moving to follow Dwight and the rest.

I didn't care about anything else but killing the asshole. He'd killed Denise, he'd threatened to kill Eugene, and tried to kill Daryl. This asshole had to die.

"Daryl, Vickie, stop!" Rosita called.

I came to a halt and turned, seeing Daryl just a few steps behind me, the same idea in his mind. But it was seeing Rosita kneeling next to Eugene that had me stay instead. Abraham had come out of the trees as well, heading towards them.

Moving over to them, I walked past Denise and felt my heart twist. She'd been such a good friend. She was another person I knew I would have been friend with even if the world hadn't turned...

"Vic." Daryl grabbed my arm, turning me to him. "We gotta go."

"He needs help!" Rosita yelled.

Looking over Daryl's shoulder I could see Eugene on the ground, bleeding. He must have gotten shot through all the gun fire. With the amount of blood coming out, I could tell it was serious.

But still, my eyes moved to Denise again…

"We'll come back for her." Daryl told me. "We will."

Slowly, I nodded. "Okay... Okay."

"A'right. Come on." he tugged on my arm.

Stepping up to Rosita and Abraham, the four of us grabbed Eugene and lifted him off the ground, carrying him back home.

**DPOV**

We'd gone back and grabbed Denise's body like I told Vic we would. But she hadn't gone. The moment we got back to Alexandria she'd gone home. I'd wanted to follow, but I couldn't. Someone needed to bury Denise.

Which is what I was doing, with the help of Carol and the booze Rosita had found.

Carol stopped digging, turning to me. "You were right. I knew it when you said it."

I knew what she meant. I knew she was talking about what I said when we were sitting on the porch steps this morning. How I'd told her I should have killed Dwight.

My mind hadn't changed. If anything, I wanted him dead more than ever. After he killed Denise, and threatened the rest of us. After the way he looked at Vic. After he threatened  _her._  No, I knew now, I knew what I had to do. I had to kill him.

**VPOV**

I sat on my bed, patting Houdini's head absentmindedly. I'd been avoiding everyone. I knew Aly was with Maggie, and I knew that if Maggie found out about Denise she wouldn't tell Aly because it was my job to do that. But I couldn't...

The door opened as Daryl stepped in, closing the door behind him again. I could smell the dirt and alcohol on him as he moved to dump his crossbow at the end of the bed before he started to pull his shirt off.

"I've killed thirty-eight people. Forty, actually." I corrected myself. "I killed two men at the train tracks."

Daryl tossed his shirt on to the ground as he turned to me. He watched me, confused, not saying a word as he waited for me to go on.

"I killed two of the Saviours that took us. One of them... she reminded me of me. But she was twisted. It was like she was all the terrible things I could be..." I shook my head. "I've killed forty people, Daryl." my voice broke as I looked down at my hands. "Forty lives taken by  _my_  hands."

"Don't."

I felt my eyes begin to water. "How can you love someone who's done that?" I looked away. "I'm a monster. I'm no better than this Negan guy."

Shaking his head, he moved closer to the bed before reaching over to lift my chin so I'd look at him. "Don't. You ain't like them. You're a good person, Vic. Nothing'll change that. You do what you do for our people. For our family." he looked deep into my eyes. "You understand? You ain't a monster."

As I slowly began to nod, I let him pull me to my feet and into his arms as I cried against his chest, letting everything I'd been keeping bottled up out.

Everything that had happened since the world fell apart, all the bad things, were finally catching up to me. All the death, and murder, and pain, and heartache. It had finally reached the surface, all because of losing Denise...

"How do I tell Aly?" I sobbed against him. "How do I tell her that she's lost another friend? And what about Tara? She's going to come back home and find out her girlfriend is dead." shaking my head I held him tighter. "I don't know what to do."

He didn't say anything at first, just held me to him and let me cry. His hold on me was both comforting and empathetic. I could feel that he understood everything I was feeling. I could feel he knew I needed him.

As much as I'd thought I was going to be okay, that I  _was_  okay, I'd been wrong. But he'd known. He could tell I wasn't okay. He knew me better than I knew myself apparently.

"I'll do it."

Pulling back, I looked up at him confused. "What?"

"I'll tell Aly." he offered.

My heart swelled. "You'd do that?"

"Do anything for you, Vic." he reached forward to wipe the tears from my cheeks. "I love you."

"I love you too, Daryl."

**  
**

**Chapter 22**

**On a Mission**

**DPOV**

I looked back at the house as I sat on my bike. I'd left Vic asleep in bed. I knew she'd want to come with me if she knew what I was doing. I couldn't have that. I couldn't put her in danger. Not again.

Last night, after telling Aly about Denise, she'd gone to her room and cried all night. She wouldn't let Vic or me in. She wouldn't let anyone in. She just kept crying. We could hear it through the whole house.

Vic had stayed in my arms. She hadn't gotten to sleep until early this morning. I hadn't slept at all. I'd watched her and let my mind think to no end. That's when I'd made up my mind.

When Vic had told me she'd killed forty people, I'd thought about how many people I'd killed. I didn't count them like she had. I didn't feel as bad about them like she had. But I knew I could handle a few more added onto my list if it meant they didn't go onto hers, or she didn't go onto theirs.

I was going to find Dwight and his asshole friends and kill them all.

Turning my bike on, I rode off, heading for the gates to leave Alexandria.

**RPOV**

Michonne sighed as I kissed her bare shoulder while the two of us lay naked under the sheets of our bed. She reached over and grabbed the apple of her night stand, taking a bite out of before offering it to me. I took a bite out of it as well, grabbing it as I chewed on the piece in my mouth before swallowing.

"This is good." I noted, wrapping my arm around her.

"Mmm. It is." she nodded. "Jesus came through."

"They all did. And they're all gonna keep coming through."

"Maggie asked me and Glenn to help put up more bins and watch points."

I rolled over, checking the baby monitor before turning back to her. "Stick around. Judith isn't even up yet." she chuckled as I rolled her over and began to kiss her arm and over to her stomach.

"Wait, no, no, no, no."

I stopped. "Yeah. Why not?"

She sighed. "Maggie has us on a schedule, and I'm not pissing off a pregnant lady."

"Yeah." I agreed. She had a good point. "Not that pregnant lady."

"Right."

Sitting up, I pulled the blankets on to my lap. "Go."

Rolling over she sat on the side of the bed before turning to look at me over her shoulder. "She's worried about an attack."

"When they come for us, we'll end it, the whole thing." I reassured her. "This won't be like before. We're putting everything in place, and these people know what to do now. The world is ours. And we know how to take it." I reached over, resting my hand on her shoulder. "Everything we need is right here, inside these walls. And we're not losing any of it again. I'm not."

She nodded. "No, you're not. I'm not."

**MPOV**

Glenn, Michonne and I stood by a bin of guns as I told them what we were doing. "We'll have these, but we should hide a few. That way, we can find them, but strangers can't. In case anyone get in."

I was worried. We all knew about what happened yesterday. We all knew about the men Abraham, Daryl, Eugene, Rosita and Vickie saw yesterday. We all knew they knew where we lived. It was only a matter of time now.

"They won't." Glenn tried to reassure me.

The sound of a revving motorcycle had the three of us look up. Daryl rode up to the gate, clearly on a mission.

"Oh, no." Michonne sighed.

"What the hell is he doing?" Glenn asked.

"Something he shouldn't." Michonne noted before the three of us rushed over to him.

Abraham was in the guard tower, Rosita by the gate. They were just as confused as the rest of us. But before anyone could even try to stop Daryl, he was already riding out the gate.

I had a feeling I knew what he was doing and where he was going. If I was right, then this was not good. He could die out there. I couldn't have that. He meant too much to us, especially Vickie. If we lost Daryl, we'd lose her. If we lost her, it would crush me. She was my best friend.

Glenn and Michonne moved to the van. It was at the front of our lined-up vehicles, ready just in case we needed to evacuate.

"Stay here." Glenn told me as he turned the vehicle on. "Make sure Vickie doesn't come after us." he gave me a knowing look.

She meant as much to him as she did to me. He understood what could happen out there. He understood what would happen here if things went wrong.

He started to drive out the gate, but Abraham stopped him, running in front of the vehicle. "Whoa. Make room for my freckled ass."

"No." Rosita stepped up to the side of the van. "Cover my watch. You stay."

"Hey, we should keep numbers here." Glenn told both of them.

But Rosita wouldn't listen. "I know where Daryl is going." she noted as she got into the back of the van.

With nothing left to say, Glenn looked to me one last time before driving off.

**RPOV**

I was sitting at the dining table when there was a knock on the door. Everyone else seemed to still be asleep, except for Michonne, who'd gone off to help Maggie a while ago.

Getting up I moved to the door and opened it, seeing Tobin standing on the other side. Without a word, he handed over a piece of paper, which I began to read.

_I wish it didn't have to end, not this way. It was never my intention to hurt you. But it's how it has to be. We have so much here, people, food, medicine, walls. Everything we need to live. But what we have other people want, too, and that will never change. If we survive this threat and it's not over, another will be back to take its place, to take what we have._

_I love you all here. I do. And I'd have to kill for you. And I can't, I won't._

_Rick sent me away and I wasn't ever gonna come back, but everything happened and I wound up staying. But I can't any more. I can't love anyone because I can't kill for anyone. So I'm going, like I always should have._

_Don't come after me, please._

_Carol_

Shaking my head, I stuffed the note in my pocket, about to leave the house.

But the sound of steps rushing down the stairs had me turn. Vickie looked worried as she hurried over to me. Her clothes had clearly been thrown on with no care, her hair just pulled up, not brushed.

"Have you seen Daryl?"

I shook my head. "No. I thought he was asleep with you."

"He isn't." she sighed before he eyes landed on the note in my hand. "What's that?" I showed it to her. She read it before looking up at Tobin. "You found this?"

He nodded. "And I can't find her."

"Shit." Vickie sighed before all three of us left the house.

**VPOV**

"What time did she leave? Do you know what she took?" dad asked Tobin as the three of us headed for the front gate in a rush.

"Sometime in the night. I never heard her go." Tobin answered, obviously flustered. "But she... She made a bunch of food, you know, she took a pack. One of my coats."

"Did she leave on foot?" dad needed specific.

"I don't know."

We reached the gate, seeing Morgan, Sasha and Abraham.

"Rick, I took over at twelve, I was on till six." Sasha told us the moment we stopped. "I never saw anything."

"The fronts been quiet since the others left." Abraham added.

I frowned. "Others?"

He looked to my guiltily. "Daryl. He went ICGM after the Saviours from yesterday. Glenn, Michonne, Rosita, they all went to shut that shit down."

"Dad..." I shook my head, feeling everything inside me break. "Dad he's out there... They'll kill him." I turned to my dad. "They'll kill him."

He grabbed my shoulder. "He'll be fine. The others will stop him. They'll bring him back."

It didn't reassure me, but I knew there was nothing I could do.

"Where's the other car?" Tobin asked as he looked out the gate. "We added two more cars yesterday. One of them is missing. The one we put right between those houses."

I knew about the cars he was taking about. We'd set them up after the wall had fallen. We grabbed a bunch of useless cars, stuck some spike in them and set them up so when walkers came by they'd get skewered on to them.

"We can barely see between the houses from up top." Abraham noted. "Especially at night."

"The note, can I see it?" Morgan gestured to the note still in dad's hand.

Dad just handed it over before turning to Sasha. "You never saw any headlights, taillights? She's smart enough to cover her tracks."

"She must have left during the shift change." Sasha suggested.

Nodding dad looked away in though before frowning. I followed his line of sight, seeing Morgan walking over to one of the cars lined up in front of the gate.

"Where are you going?" dad called to him.

"I'm gonna go find her." Morgan answered.

"Wait." dad told him before turning to me. "Tell Carl I'll be back soon. No one else leaves. I need you to stay here. I know you want to go find Daryl. But I need you here. Okay?"

Reluctantly, I nodded. "Okay."

"Okay." he turned to the others. "Everyone stays ready for a fight." he told them before hurrying over to the car Morgan was getting in.

I stood there, watching as dad and Morgan drove off and out of Alexandria. I couldn't help but wonder if I was going to see everyone again...

**MPOV**

I opened the door to the pantry, steeping inside.

"Hey." Enid nodded to me as she stood by one of the shelves.

"Hey." I said back as I closed the door behind me.

"You look tired." she noted.

"We still have a lot to do. Glenn, Michonne, and Rosita just took off after Daryl. I'm taking an extra shift, just packing a lunch before I go back out."

She reached up on the shelf and pulled down a jar of pickles, handing them over to me.

With a light chuckle she nodded again before walking past me. "See you later."

I frowned, watching her. "Where are you going?"

"To take your shift while you rest." she answered, still moving to the door.

"Enid."

Sighing, she turned to me. "Just for a few hours. Let me help. Put up your feet and eat some pickles." she told me before leaving.

I smiled as I watched her go. When I couldn't see her anymore I looked down at the jar of pickles in my hands as I decided who I wanted to spend the day with...

**RPOV**

"You didn't have to come." Morgan told me from the driver's seat.

We were driving along the road, following the fresh tyre tracks we'd seen outside of Alexandria. They could have been from anyone, but our money was on Carol. Besides Daryl and the others, Carol was the only other person we knew of that left town. So that meant there weren't a lot of ways this could go wrong.

"We have to try, even if it's a long shot, even if it's dangerous. Tyre tracks pointed east. We go east."

"The Saviours' compound that you and the group... That you went to, that was west. Seems like she went east."

I shook my head. "You don't even know Carol."

"Oh, I got to. A little."

I wondered what he and Carol might have talked about if they'd been stuck in a room together. They were like two sides of the same coin. Similar in so many ways, but different in just as many. It made it hard to believe they would have spent any time together over the last few months since Morgan had arrived.

I asked, looking out the window. "Why are you doing this?"

"What I believe, I'm not right. There is no right. It's just the wrong that doesn't pull you down."

Hearing that he knew he was wrong put me at ease slightly. But the rest of what he said had me thinking.

I thoughts about Carol first, wondering if her running away was because of everything she'd done. Then I wondered about what Maggie said after we'd found her, Vickie and Carol. She told us she couldn't do it anymore.

But we couldn't all be like that... could we? I knew our people. I knew there were a handful that were tough enough to do almost anything. Carl, Victoria, Michonne, Daryl, Carol, Abraham, Sasha, Rosita, I knew they do anything. Maggie, Glenn, Aaron, Tara, Heath, Gabriel, Eugene, I knew they do almost anything... Me...

"It hasn't pulled me down." I noted.

"I think it will. 'Cause I know you."

I sighed. Every time he said that pissed me off. He didn't know me, not anymore. Just like I don't know him. People change. Especially over years apart and in the situations we were put in over time.

 

...

 

"There." Morgan gestured to the scene before us.

I nodded. "I see it."

There were two cars ahead of us, one was ours, the other I didn't know. But there were bodies, four of them... No three. One of the men looked to be still alive.

Getting out of the car I gestured to the car further up the road. "That's her car. You see her?"

He looked around before answering. "No."

I walked over to the guy who was still alive- barely- and crouched down, grabbing his shirt. "Hey, where is she?"

But he was too far gone, useless. So I killed him, to save us from dealing with a walker, not to put him out of his misery.

Looking up at Morgan I could see him watching me before he turned and started towards Carol's car. I wasn't too far behind him, but stopped when I saw a spear laying on the ground.

"The Saviours were getting weapons form the Hilltop's blacksmith." I remembered as I picked the spear up, showing Morgan. "These men were Saviours."

He just turned and kept walking, moving over to one of the already turned walkers, killing it with his cane before checking the car.

"There's blood here." he called to me. "She could've been hit." he started to head back towards me.

I nodded. "I'm proud of her."

"How's that?"

"She took four of them down. That woman, she's a force of nature."

"She left because she can't anymore. That's what her letter said."

"She could because she had to. Sometimes you have to." I told him before moving to check the Saviours vehicle.

"Some more blood opposite these men that leads into the field. It's a trail. Could be Carol's. She could still be alive. But she's not here."

I picked up the last gun left from the Saviours. "Most of their guns are gone. She might've taken 'em." I sighed, looking in the direction of the trail. "Or she could've died here. Even if she isn't here."

"Trail goes this way." he gestured to the field, choosing to ignore me.

Knowing I wasn't giving up without finding her, I followed him as he followed the trail into the field.

"They were close to Alexandria." I noted. "There's even more of them. We didn't end it."

He shook his head. "No. We started something."

**DPOV**

I lifted my crossbow, aimed and pulled the trigger. The arrow flew through the air, digging into the trunk of a tree, an inch or so away from hitting Rosita in the face.

She glared at me, pulling the arrow out. "Watch the hell out, asshole." she snapped.

I stepped up to her, snatching the arrow out of her hands. "Yeah, I did. You shouldn't have come." I glared and her, Glenn and Michonne before moving to walk off.

"You shouldn't have left." Michonne called as they followed me.

I stopped and turned to them. "When I split off from Sasha and Abraham, he was out there in the woods, in that burned-out forest with them girls. Put a gun to my head! Tied me up! I even tried to help him." I shook my head, walking away again.

"So you think it's your fault?" Glenn asked.

I stopped again, nodding at him. "Yeah, I know it is. I'm gonna go do what I should've done before."

"What, for her?" Glenn asked. "She's gone, man. You're doing this for you."

"Man, I don't give a shit." I told him, ready to get out of there.

"Daryl." Glenn wouldn't let me go, he just kept following me. "We need to get back there and figure this out from home.  _Our_ home. We need you. Everyone back there needs us right now.  _Vickie_ needs you. What do you think's gonna happen to her if you don't come back? It's... It's gonna go wrong out here."

Michonne stepped forward to stand next to him. "We'll square it. I will. I promise you. Just come back."

I looked to the three of them. Glenn knew what he was doing, bringing Vic up like that. I'd do anything for her. I'd sacrifice myself for her if I had to.

But I couldn't go back. Not when me being out here was for her as well.

"I can't." I told them, pushing past.

"Daryl." Glenn warned.

"Man, I can't!" I spun around to look at them again. "Vic and me, we're tryna have a baby!" their eyes went wide at the news. "How can we do that with them pricks out here? How can we do that when she's always in danger? You know." I gestured to Glenn. "You got Maggie. You know. So I gotta be out here. I got end this, now."

"Daryl." Michonne stepped forward.

I shook my head. "These pricks, they killed Denise! They threatened us. They wanna get in the walls. Take over. He said he was gonna  _take_  people. That's on me." I told them before turning around for the last time and walking off.

They could call for me as much as they wanted, but I wasn't turning back now. I was going to finish this, once and for all.

**RPOV**

Morgan crouched down, looking at some blood on the long grass in front of us. "It's not much. But if it's Carol's, then she's been bleeding for a while." he noted before getting up, the two of us walking again. "So, you're out here because Carol is your friend?"

I shook my head. "I'm out here because she's my family."

"I've talked to people back there. I found out about what happened at the prison. How you sent her away." he turned to look at me as we walked. "She killed two of your people, right? Burned their bodies? What if that happened today? Would you kill her?"

"If it happened today, I'd thank her." I answered honestly. "Or I would've killed them myself. She was right to do it. They were sick, spreading a disease. They weren't gonna make it."

"Yeah, but this was back then. And you didn't kill her. You sent her away, Rick. And she came back. And she came back and she saved all y'all. People can come back, Rick."

We kept walking in silence. I could tell he was trying to get his point across to me, but I didn't think there was anything that could change my mind. In this world, it's kill or be killed. You don't get the luxury of surviving without getting blood on your hands. Everyone had to fight for their lives, or they'd lose them.

Spotting a walker ahead, I froze for a moment. It was a woman with short hair...

Ruching forward I got closer to it, and as it turned I filled with relief. "It's not her." I noted before Morgan and I kept moving forward, killing the walkers easily.

Once it was dead, Morgan looked down at her. "She couldn't have been dead more than a day." he noted.

The sound of doors creaking had as look up, seeing a barn ahead. We started for it, seeing walker bodies on the floor as we got closer, like a trail leading up to the barn.

A man came out of the barn, fighting a walker off with a spear, killing it quickly.

"Hey!" I raised my gun, aiming it at him.

"Whoa, whoa!" he ducked back into the barn. "It's okay. I'm not trouble. I don't want any trouble."

"Come out." I ordered. "Drop your weapons."

"I can't do that." he called back. "The wasted are too close. Just looking for my horse. Have you seen him?"

"No." Morgan answered. "We're looking for our friend. Have you seen her?"

When he didn't answer, I asked. "Have you seen her?"

"They're coming." the guy warned, and sure enough walkers began to walk around from the other side of the barn. "Just go. Just go!" the barn doors open, and he ran.

"Stop!" I called, but he didn't, so I pulled the trigger.

Morgan pushed me to the side so the bullet hit a walker instead of the guy. I turned and glared at him, but knew we didn't have time to waste, the walkers were closing in.

We moved quickly, disposing of the dead easily enough.

Once they were dead, I moved forward, stepping up to the walker the guy had killed with his spear. The spear was still sticking into the body.

"Rick, we didn't know who he was." Morgan told me as he followed me to the body.

I pulled the spear out. "Yeah. It's one of the Hilltops'. Like the one on the road. Maybe he's one of them. Maybe he's looking for Carol, too."

"Maybe the man it just looking for a horse. Maybe he is from Hilltop. Maybe he's from somewhere else." Morgan shook his head.

"I don't take chances any more." I reminded him, dropping the spear.

He sighed, taking a few steps away before speaking. "Those people, the Wolves, after they attacked, I found one of them. He had attacked me on the road before, when I was trying to find you, and I stopped him. But I let him live. And then he was there in Alexandria after the attack, hiding in one of the brownstones, so I stopped him again. I knocked him out, and I could have killed him." he took a breath. "But all life is precious." he paused. "I put him in the cell of the brownstone basement. 'Cause I knew he could change. We all can change."

"You had one of them alive in the community?"

"Oh, yeah." he nodded. "And when the walls came down and the walkers broke in, Carol found out. We fought, and that man escaped. And Denise... She had come to the cell to try and help him and he took her hostage. And then, she and that Wolf, they got swarmed. And that man, that killer, he saved her life. And the Denise was there to save Carl. It... It's all a circle. Everything gets a return." he shrugged. "But the fact is the fact. I did what I did. I let him live."

Suddenly I didn't know what to think, or what to say. I still knew he was wrong, but if it wasn't for him saving the Wolf, Carl might have died that night he lost his eyes. I could have lost my son...

He stepped forward. "You go home, Rick. You take the car. You're needed back there. You shouldn't be out here taking any more chances."

"I'm not leaving. Carol's still out here."

"And I will find her. Somehow." he reassured me. "You go." he turned to leave.

"You're coming back." I told him before he could go.

He nodded, turning to me again. "Yeah. But if I don't, don't come looking."

Pulling out the Saviours' gun, I offered it to him. "Take it."

He shook his head. "No, I-"

"Take it." I insisted. So he did, and then went to leave again. "Morgan... Michonne did steal that protein bar."

He grinned. "Oh, I know."

Not needing anything else said, we both turned and walked our separate ways.

**VPOV**

I'd spent the entire day with Maggie at her place. Aly wasn't talking to me, though I didn't really blame her. I should have been able to protect Denise, and now Daryl had left and I hadn't stopped him or gone to bring him back.

Maggie had found me around lunch time, carrying a jar of pickles. She's told me she thought it would be a good idea for the two of us to just hang out. I hadn't argued because I hadn't wanted to. Honestly there didn't seem like there were a lot of things better than the comfort of my friend today.

She'd seen I hadn't brushed my hair, and suddenly had an idea. She wanted to give me a haircut, which is something I hadn't had since my mum was around. Mum used to cut Carl's and my hair all the time...

Standing behind me, she ran a brush through my newly cut hair. She didn't take a lot of, just gave me a trim and a bit of a style. My hair still fell half way down my back, but it was just a little more manageable now.

"You know, I miss this. We haven't really spent time together like this since the prison." I could hear the faint smile in her words.

"Yeah..." I nodded gently.

"Well, we have hung out, but it hasn't really been just the two of us." she noted. "With all the friends we have now, it's hard to make it just the two of us."

"That, plus your husband is always around." I pointed out.

She laughed lightly. "Yes, that too. But you can't blame him. He's gotten a little over protective since I fell pregnant."

At the mention of her pregnancy I felt a pang of guilt. I hadn't told her that Daryl and I were trying. I hadn't told anyone. But what was worse is that I hadn't told anyone- not even Daryl- that there was a slim chance of me actually having a baby.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked, seeming to notice the change in my mood.

I shrugged. "Fine."

She sighed. "Vickie, you can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

Looking down at the table, I hesitated. I wondered if I should tell her. It wasn't just my news to tell. It wasn't just up to me. Daryl had a say in all of this as well... But he wasn't here, and it felt like it was time to finally speak up.

"Daryl and I are trying to have a baby."

The hair brush stopped moving.

Shifting nervously in my chair, I spoke again. "Maggie?"

Suddenly her arms were wrapped around my shoulders as she squeezed me tightly. She didn't say anything, just held me to her. I let her as I just sat there, resting a hand on her arm. A warmth spread over me and it was like some of the pain that had been looming over me brightened a little.

Maggie was just that kind of person. She always knew how to make things better. She always knew when and what to say. She always knew if you needed space, or a hug. Maggie always knew.

I guess that's one of the reasons why we were friends. It was nice to have someone like that in my life. To know that I would always have at least one person on my side.

"How long have you been trying?" she asked as she pulled back, getting back to brushing my hair.

"A couple of months, or so." I answered.

"Is that why you too have been inseparable lately?" she chuckled lightly.

"Yeah. But..." I sighed, looking out the window. "I talked to that doctor at Hilltop. He gave me an ultrasound because I was worried about everything inside..."

When I didn't say anything for a long time, Maggie spoke. "What did he find, Vickie?"

I shook my head, feeling tears well up in my eyes. "My uterus is scarred and damaged. I'm not sure what from, maybe from when I got shot, or when I got that piece of metal stuck in me, or something else, I don't know. But either way, the chances of me having a baby are practically non-existent." my voice cracked.

She rested a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Nodding, I wiped away my tears. "I am, too."

**RPOV**

I got out of the car as Abraham closed the gate. "Morgan's still out there looking. Is Michonne here?"

I looked down at Aly and Houdini as they sat by the gate. Aly was colouring in a book, while the dog just laid by her side. It was odd, seeing her with Abraham, but the two had gotten close lately. She always seemed to be able to soften everyone.

Abraham shook his head, answering my question. "She's still out there, too."

I sighed. As much as I was worried about Michonne, I was worried about Vickie too. If anything happened to the others out there, it would kill her. Rosita and her had gotten closer since we'd come to Alexandria. Michonne and her were pretty good friend. Glenn was her best friend. Daryl...

"You afraid to go back to it?" Abraham's voice pulled my attention to him. "Let somebody close?"

"Yeah." I turned to him and shrugged. "Yeah."

He nodded. "Me, too. But now... I think I'm that much more ready to tear the world a brand-new asshole." he said, and we both chuckled. "Any second now."

**VPOV**

Maggie and I sat at the dining table when there was a knock on her door. We looked over, seeing Enid through the glass, waiting for someone to let her in. Maggie stood and moved over, opening the door for the girl.

"Uh, Scot said you were looking for me. What's up?" Enid asked.

"I need some more help." Maggie told her before stepping to the side, letting the girl in.

Enid walked over to where I sat, looking around confused. But as her eyes landed on the brush, mirror and scissors on the table, I answered her question look.

"I can't really cut hair, and Maggie wants someone to give her a haircut. We were wondering if you could help?"

Enid looked from me and then to Maggie. "Yeah, sure. Uh, how short do you want it?"

"Short." Maggie answered as she sat back down, handing Enid the scissors. "Vickie knows. She'll tell you how to do it."

After our heartfelt chat, I'd wanted to change the subject. Eventually we'd managed to start talking about hair again, which is when I suggested that Maggie get a haircut as well. She agreed and decided she wanted it short again, like how she'd had it when we first met at the farm.

I stood from my chair, moving to stand next to Enid as she began to cut away. I gave her a brief description on how Maggie's hair had been before and watched as she began to cut away.

Before long Enid had finished, placing the scissors down and handing the mirror over to Maggie. "I like it." she noted.

I nodded. "Me too."

"But why?" Enid asked.

Maggie sighed. "I have to keep going. And I don't want anything getting in my way." she answered.

I watched as she looked at her new hair in the mirror, her face changing slightly as she bent forward...

"Maggie?"

"Man, did I go too short?" Enid asked. "I only used to cut my dad's."

Maggie shook her head. "No, it's not that." she took a deep breath.

I moved to crouch in front of her. "Maggie, talk to me."

She looked at the ground for a second before she screamed out in pain, clutching her stomach and falling to the floor as she kept screaming.

"Maggie!" Enid looked down at her with wide scared eyes.

"Go get my dad. Now!" I told her, as I stayed by Maggie's side, having no idea what I was supposed to do now.

**  
**

**Chapter 23**

**Last Day on Earth**

**VPOV**

"Do you have to go?" Aly asked me as I pulled on my navy-blue button up shirt over my grey tank.

I nodded. "Yes. Maggie is sick."

"But Daryl's not back." she noted.

I sighed, stopping and turning to her. "I know you're worried, but I have to do this. I'm sorry."

She looked to the ground, kicking at the small rocks on the road. She'd only started talking to me after she found out I was leaving. I knew she felt guilty for shutting me off, and now was worried I wouldn't come back.

"Hey." Abraham walked over to us. I'm not sure where he'd come from or where he'd been going, but now, he knelt in front of my daughter, grabbing her arms as he smiled at her. "What did I tell you the other day?"

She looked up at him. "That you'll protect my mum no matter what."

"That's right." he nodded. "So I want you to stand up straight and tell your mum your gonna be a good girl while you wait for her to come back. Okay?" she nodded slowly. "I can't hear you."

A small smile tugged on her lips. "Okay."

"Now that's what I wanna hear." he got to his feet, turning to look at me. "She's all yours."

I smiled at him. "Thanks, Abraham." as he walked off, I turned back to Aly. "See, I'll be fine." but I could see she still wasn't one hundred percent sure, so I pulled out my knife. "Here." I offered it to her. "I want you to take care of this?"

She took it carefully. "Your knife?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"But you never go anywhere without your knife." she noted.

"I know." I shrugged. "So now I have a reason to come back."

Her face lit up before she threw her arms around my legs. "I love you, mum."

I rested a hand on her head. "I love you, too."

**CPOV**

I stormed into the pantry, Enid right behind me. But I ignored, setting my sights on the guns, having only one thing on my mind.

"Glenn's still not back. I need to be there for Maggie." she insisted.

"I said no." I told her as I started to stash some guns into the bag I carried, stocking up for the long road ahead.

She sighed. "Carl."

"Look, you were wrong before. This place isn't too big to protect. And you need to stay back and help protect it."

"This place is ready." she argued. "Most of us have been trained. You know that. If you were worried about an attack you wouldn't be leaving."

I turned to her then. "You know how far the Hilltop is? You know what could happen? Those Saviours are out there. You know what they did to Denise, what they tried to do with Maggie, Carol and Vickie. To Daryl, to Rosita, to Eugene, to Victoria-  _again_. That's not happening to you, all right? I'm not gonna let it." I told her before turning to the guns again.

"You wanna run into them, right?" she asked. "You hope they show up." my silence was answer enough. "Jesus! This is about getting Maggie to a doctor, not about..." she shook her head. "Screw you! I'm going." she moved to the door.

I stepped in her way, stopping her. "Enid, stop. Just wait."

"Get out of my way." she demanded, but I wouldn't move. "Carl!"

I sighed and nodded to the closed. "Just grab some pistols form the closet. But hurry, we gotta go now." I told her.

As she turned to rush into the closet I waited before closing and the locking the door behind her, trapping her in the small space, keeping her from following me.

"Carl!" she struggled to try and open the door. "Damn it!" she hit her hands against the door. "Carl! Carl!" sighing, she stopped banging her fists on the door. "What happens if you don't come back? How am I supposed to live with that? What the hell am I supposed to do?"

I shook my head. "Just survive somehow." I told her before walking out, bag of guns in hand.

**RPOV**

I walked out of Maggie's house, carrying some supplies for the road. Carl, Vickie and I were going to take Maggie to the Hilltop, to get her to their doctor. As much as I wanted Vickie to stay behind because I wasn't sure she was ready to leave again, she insisted she wasn't leaving Maggie.

"Any change?" Sasha asked as she and Abraham headed towards me as I neared to RV door.

I shook my head. "She's getting worse."

"Good call on the transport." Abraham nodded to the RV.

"Well, I figured she'd be more comfortable."

"And also means you got room for more." he noted. "They're out there, so I'm gonna be there with you." he looked to Sasha. "We are."

"Package deal." she grinned before the two of them stepped into the vehicle.

Eugene- who'd been behind them- stepped forward. "Uh, what she said."

I looked to Eugene, unsure. "Look, it's a long trip and you're just getting over-"

He cut me off. "It's a superficial graze. Proteins are binding, plus we need to discuss ammunition production and manufacture, so let's roll."

Abraham stepped back out at that moment. When I turned to him for help, he shook his head. "I already tired. Give him an inch, he's taking a mile." he told me before walking off.

"I'm only asking for twenty-three, give or take, depending on the route." Eugene shrugged. "I know I could be of some help. Now is the time and here is the place. Don't shine me. I'll be your anchor-man. Yes, I damn will." he nodded before getting on the RV.

I watched him step up, seeing Vickie waiting. Once he was on, she stepped off, moving to me.

"Are you sure?" I asked her. "You can stay here. I'll get her there."

She just shook her head. "Daryl and Glenn are out there. Maggie, she needs me and I need her right now. I couldn't live with myself if I stayed back and let you take her without me. What if something happens?"

"Nothing is going to happen." I tried to reassure her.

She gave me a sad smile. "It's never that easy, dad."

Aaron walked up to us then. "We're ready to protect this place, and the Saviours know it. That's why they grabbed Eugene." he noted. He wanted to go. He'd already asked me before.

I sighed. "Look, it's not up for discussion."

He shrugged. "Then you're just gonna have to punch me in the face, and tie me up again, 'cause that's what it's gonna take to stop me."

"Okay." Vickie nodded, gesturing to the RV. "Get in."

Aaron turned his eyes to her. "Thank you."

He moved to get in the vehicle as Carl appeared from around the corner, getting in as well. Vickie and I stayed there and waited, seeing Gabriel and Spencer headed out way.

The priest stopped once he reached us. "We have twenty-four-hour shifts set up on each of the watchtowers. Each one of them fully supplied and ready. In case that we are incurred upon, we have drivers assigned, evacuation and distraction and the rendezvous we discussed. In the event of any emergency, my first priorities are Judith and Alyssa. I will not fail you." he informed us. "Are you comfortable leaving me in charge of Alexandria's defence?"

I chuckled, nodding. "Yes."

Vickie nodded as well. "We trust you, Gabriel." she told him before he stepped aside, letting Spencer through.

"If the Saviours do show up, I don't know, I'm thinking, if it's not too late, should we try and make some kind of a deal?" Spencer asked.

I looked to Vickie as she turned to me, both of us sharing a look. I could see she felt the same way about all of this as me, and was prepared to do anything  _but_  give in.

"Tell them to wait for us. We got a deal for them." I shrugged. "Let's go."

**VPOV**

Last night Maggie hadn't gotten any better. Daryl, Glenn, Michonne, and Rosita weren't back. Everything just seemed to be going wrong. So when morning came and dad told me he was going to take Maggie to the Hilltop, I knew I had to go with him. If I stayed back there for one more second, I was going to pull my hair out. I couldn't sit still and twiddle my thumbs. I couldn't just let everyone else do all the work. I couldn't let my dad and brother take my best friend away for a long period of time without me.

So here I was, sitting at the end of bed in the RV, by Maggie's feet, my hand on her leg, offering support and comfort, and anything else she might need.

Dad stepped in, crouching down in front of her. "Hey." he reached for her hand.

She smiled lightly at him. "Hey."

"We're gonna get there." he reassured her. "The doctor at the Hilltop, he's gonna make things better." but I could tell she didn't believe him. He must have seen it too because he reached over to brush her hair out of her face gently. "Hey..."

"How do you know?" she tried not to cry.

"Everything we've done, we've done together. We got here together and we're still here." he told her. "Things have happened but it's always worked out for us, 'cause it's always been  _all_  of us. That's how I know."

"He's right." I smiled at her. "As long as we're together, we can do anything."

 

...

 

I watched as dad took care of Maggie. It was nice, seeing him like this. He'd always been a good dad to me and Carl before everything fell apart. He was a good dad now too. But since everything had happened, I hadn't really needed a father. So watching him take care of my best friend... it was nice.

The RV rolled to a stop.

Dad frowned, turning to look down the length of the vehicle to Abraham- who was driving. "What?"

"Enemy close." Abraham called back.

Dad got up and headed to the front of the RV. I got up to follow, giving Maggie a small reassuring smile before leaving her in the room and moving to stand next to dad as we looked out the front window.

There were two pickups and a car parked in our way with a number of armed men standing there, watching us. Another man was on the floor, and still looked to be alive, but I didn't care much about him at that moment. I was more interested in the bastards that were standing.

"We doing this?" Abraham asked.

Dad shook his head. "No." he answered before moving to leave the RV, grabbing a rifle on the way out.

I was right behind him, pulling out my hand gun and checking the chamber as I stepped on to the road. Everyone else followed suit, grabbing their own weapons. Only Maggie was left in the vehicle.

We walked to stand in front of the RV and the people, dad raising his hands to show he was not going to shoot. I held my gun by my thigh, finger by the trigger, ready to shoot. The two of us took point, standing a step or so ahead of the others.

The guy standing at the front of the group ahead of us looked down at the man on the ground as he spoke. "He's someone who is with a whole lot of someones who didn't listen."

"We can make a deal." dad offered. "Right here, right now."

The leader nodded. "That's right. We can." he smiled. "Give us all your stuff. We'll probably have to kill one of you. That's just the way it is. But then we can start moving forward on business. All you have to do is listen."

"Yeah..." dad looked to me as he changed the hold of his gun, now standing ready for a fight. He sighed, turning back to the men. "That deal's not gonna work for us. Fact is, I was about to ask for all your stuff. Only I'm thinking I don't have to kill any of you... Any  _more_  of you."

Another one of the men stepped up to the guy on the ground, shaking a can of what looked to be paint. Leaning over, he sprayed a cross on to the chest of the man on the ground, before stepping back again.

The leader shook his head. "Sorry, my deal is the only deal. We don't negotiate."

"Okay." I shrugged, gesturing to the rest of our people. "Back up." I didn't have to know that they'd all listened, moving back to the RV.

Dad nodded. "Yeah, me and my people are leaving." he told them as he started to back up. I did the same, sticking to his side just in case he'd need back up.

The leader gave a little wave. "Okay, friend. Plenty of ways to get to where you're going."

As we reached the door though, dad stopped and turned back to the men again. "You want to make today your last day on Earth?"

"No, but that is a good thing to bring up." the leader answered. "Think about it. What if it's the last day on Earth for you? For someone you love? What is that's true? Maybe you should be extra nice to those people in that RV 'cause you never know..." he snapped his fingers. "Just like that."

Dad turned to look at me, and I could see he was thinking about the man's words. At that moment, with everyone else on the RV and me the only one in sight, I guess dad was picturing what it would be like with me gone... By the look on his face as he tensed his jaw and tilted his head slightly, he did not like what he saw.

"Be kind to each other." the leader spoke again. "Like you said... Like it was your last day on Earth."

Dad nodded. "You do the same." he said, stepping on to the RV.

I didn't move though. Instead I found my eyes landing back on the man on the road, wondering...

"What about you, darlin'?" the leader looked to me. "Are you sure you wanna follow this road? Look at this guy. Look at what happens when you cross us." he gestured to the man on the road. "You sure you wanna risk everyone's lives?"

I don't know what it was. I don't know what came over me. But for a second, for a split second, I thought about giving up...

Maybe it was because I was tired of all the fighting and the killing. Maybe it was because I just wanted to get through so we could get Maggie to the Hilltop. Maybe it was because I just didn't have the will power to keep going. Maybe it was because of everything I'd seen the Saviours do before. Maybe it was because I just didn't care as much anymore.

I don't know why, but there was a second. A moment where I was ready to just lay down on the road next to that men and give up...

The leader must have seen something changed inside me, because he called it out. "You see. It doesn't have to be this way. We might not even kill one of you. Might just take one instead." he shrugged. "But it's your call."

I don't know if I was going to agree and give in, or maybe even fight. But before I could say or do anything, dad's voice caught my attention.

I turned to him as he spoke. "Vickie, get in the RV."

Just like that, the feeling of giving up, washed away. Like a slap to the face, or being dunked in ice water, I woke up and shook the helplessness I'd been feeling. Ignoring the Saviours I did as I was told and stepped back on to the RV.

 

...

 

I sat next to Sasha at the table in the RV, Eugene across from us as he looked at the map in front of him, trying to figure out where we should go next.

"Log Run Road's a straight shot." he suggested.

"We want visibility." Sasha noted.

Eugene looked to the map again. "There. You got it on Shelton. Gold course, country club, sloping terrain... No bum-rush from the bogeyman, we'd see him from a good piece. It is a longer trip by a third, but we get the scenic-safety of clear cut dingles and glens."

I had no idea what that meant...

Neither did Sasha, apparently. "You're being serious, right?"

He nodded. "As coronary thrombosis."

Dad came over then, turning to me. "You got a route?"

"Yeah." I gestured to where Eugene said we should go.

"All right. Let's go." he nodded, turning to Abraham.

Before long, we started rolling again.

**RPOV**

"Bitch nuts." Abraham came to a stop again.

I looked out the front window, seeing more men in front of us, blocking this road as well. With five vehicles and a bunch of men armed to the teeth, it was clear they weren't planning on moving for anyone.

"We making our stand?" Sasha asked me.

"Yeah, we end it." Carl told her from over my shoulder.

But I looked to each of the men, counting them, shaking my head. "No, not now. They've been waiting, they're ready. With one of us behind the wheel, that's six on sixteen. We're gonna play it our way, how we want it." I turned to look at him. "Right?"

Slowly, he nodded. "Right."

With that, I turned back to Abraham. "All right, go slow."

He did as I said, putting the vehicle into reverse, backing us up and turning us around. As we moved, one of the men stepped forward, aiming his gun up to the sky and pulling the trigger, shooting at nothing. But I could tell what it was. It was a warning. My instincts where right. They weren't going to move.

 

...

 

"How are we on gas?" I asked, crouching down in between Sasha and Abraham as they sat in the front seats of the RV.

"Half a tank." Abraham answered. "Pulled some more cans before we left."

"Those weren't the same men who blocked the road the first time." Sasha noted.

"Same outfit, different soldiers." Abraham added. "They got numbers."

I nodded, knowing they were right. But I wasn't willing to give up. "Yeah, we keep driving. We get her there."

"We will." Sasha agreed.

"If we have to shove each and every one of them up their own asses." Abraham agreed before turning back to look at the road and coming to a stop again.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A line of walkers, chained from one side of the road to the other.

I shook my head. "We can't go through it. Can't risk the RV. You stay behind the wheel, just in case. We'll clear it." I told Abraham before turning for the door.

Vickie stepped out of the back room when she saw me moving. "I got your back."

We walked out of the RV, the others behind us as Maggie stayed asleep in the back and Abraham stayed at the wheel. Guns raised, we watched the perimeter as we moved closer to the walkers.

"Putting together a Red Rover like that takes people." Eugene noted. "A lot of them."

The way they were tied... I had no idea how anyone could do that without getting bit or losing control of the walkers. It was risky, and it had my gut twist. Who were we dealing with? If they could do this, what else could they do?

"Dad, let's do this." Vickie said next to me.

I nodded. "Come on." slinging my gun over my shoulder, I reached for my axe as I stepped forward.

"Dad..." Carl's voice stopped me.

"That's Michonne's." Aaron gestured to the vest one of the walkers were wearing.

I stepped closer and got a look, seeing that two dreadlocks were stuck in her head... Reaching forward, I snatched the dreads out of the walker's head, looking down at them. I couldn't let myself believe it. If they had her...

"And that's Daryl's." Sasha pointed to another walker which was wearing a jacket we all recognised. Two arrows stuck out of its chest.

My heart sank.

Vickie stepped closer to the walker wearing Daryl's jacket, her hand's shaking. The grip she had on her bat tightened. I could see her body tense and vibrate.

"Vickie..." I stepped closer to her.

But before anyone could do anything she lifted her bat over her head and brought it down hard on the head of the walker wearing Daryl's jacket. Again she lifted the bat and brought it down on the walker, yelling out as she did it over and over.

She was angry. She was scared. So was I.

Lifting my axe, I readied myself to hit the walkers and break the chain. But as I did, people started shooting at us.

"Get back to the RV!" I told the others. "Go!"

They all left, but Vickie. She stayed standing in front of the walkers, hitting the one wearing Daryl's jacket over and over. she'd broken it's arms and killed it. The thing was on the ground, holding the down like an anchor. But still, she wouldn't give in.

"Vickie!" I stepped up to her, grabbing her arm, ducking as bullets still flew our way.

She shrugged me off, lifted her bat and brought it down again, completely severing the arm of the walker.

Now that the chain was broken I had to act fast. I killed the walker on the left of Vickie as it reached for her. Pushing it to the side, I then went for the one on the right, which was free now as well- she must have severed the other arm too. Kicking it off the road I followed and killed it quickly. The dead walkers acted as anchors to the rest of the walkers, and now gave us a way through.

As I turned to Vickie I saw her pull Daryl's jacket off the battered body, the bullets still coming. Yet she didn't care. She just grabbed the jacket, holding it to her with the bat in her other hand as she walked to the RV without a worry.

No bullets hit her. No bullets hit any of us. In fact, this whole time, they'd been hitting the ground at our feet...

I rushed over to follow Vickie, getting in the RV and slamming the door shut behind me. Once everyone was in, Abraham sped off, passing the walkers and the shooters, heading forward.

Part of me wanted to go to Vickie as she moved to the back room. But as I went to go, I remembered Michonne's dreadlocks I held in my hand.

Looking down at them, I found time disappear as scenario after scenario filled my mind... Having no idea where our people were and what was being done to them, I suddenly felt as if maybe we were in over our heads...

**  
**

**Chapter 24**

**Eeny Meeny Miny Moe**

**VPOV**

I sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window, Daryl's jacket now on me. I didn't care about the walker blood. I didn't care about anything actually. All that mattered was Daryl and the other's, and Maggie. My family was in danger. Now more than ever, I was determined to put a stop to the Saviours.

"What's that sound?" Sasha asked, breaking the silence that had fallen in the vehicle. She's taken a spot at the table when I'd asked for the passenger seat.

"Undercarriage could have caught a bullet." Eugene noted. "Or it could be transmission, it could be nothing."

Dad sighed. "They were firing at our feet. They blocked the road but they weren't trying to stop us. They want us in this direction."

"Barton Road takes us north, but they gotta know we want to go north." Sasha informed everyone, having a good point.

"Meadows could take us east a piece." Eugene suggested, the two looking over the map at the table. "But we can get back on track on Mayhew."

"We're down to a third of a tank, we could top up at the next stop, but no refills after that." Sasha told us.

"She's burning up." Aaron spoke.

He'd been in the room with Maggie, so hearing his voice had me look over for a moment, seeing him and my dad disappear to the back of the RV. But I didn't go. I just stayed where I was, pulling my legs up on to the couch, feeling both angry and scared.

That's when I looked out the front window... and felt everything inside me fall ten feet lower than it already was.

"Rick." Abraham called, coming to a stop.

Dozens of men stacked on vehicles and piled on the road were waiting for us, once again armed and ready to fight. I couldn't even count how many there were...

Dad stepped forward, leaning in between Abraham and myself. "Go back."

"Where?" Abraham asked.

"Just go." my voice was flat, empty.

Doing as I said, Abraham put the RV in reverse and drove off, leaving this group behind just like all the others.

I didn't concentrate on where he was going, or what the others were saying. I simply sat there, staring out the window to my right as I fiddled with my wedding ring. Thoughts of what could be happening to Daryl and the others plagued my mind, darkening my mood.

"Hey." Abraham's voice brought me back to Earth. I looked over at him, without saying a word. Seeing that I wasn't going to respond, he spoke again. "I know it means shit right now, but Daryl can handle himself. Take a lot more than these assholes to take him down."

"A bullet usually does the trick." I shrugged, feeling myself sink deeper into the hole my mood was making.

But he just shook his head. "These pricks didn't put those walkers on a chain for no reason. They want you feelin' this way. So you gotta sort your shit out and keep your head clear. We'll get our people back. No doubt about it."

The only times Abraham and I had really talked were mainly based around Aly. We either talked about her, or she was around. Sitting here now, this was probably the closest we got to having an actually conversation just between the both of us.

Yet it still didn't ease my mind.

"I appreciate the pep talk, coach." sighing, I got to my feet and moved for the back of the RV without another word.

**RPOV**

I held Maggie's hand, crouching down by the side of her bed. Vickie sat on the bed behind me, curled up in the corner, looking out the blinds, blocking out the world. I think she was in shock. Hell, I was almost there myself. But I was staying strong. I had to.

"Are we close?" Maggie asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, we're... We're getting there."

"Were there..." she took a breath. "I heard shots."

"Yeah. Saviours, they're gone. We are... we're gonna get you there."

"I know."

"You're gonna be okay." I gave her a small smile. "The baby's gonna be okay. This isn't it. This isn't is. There's more. There's gonna be more."

"I believe in you, Rick." she squeezed my hand.

I stayed there as she slowly fell back asleep, the medicines we gave her easing enough of the pain to help her rest. I kept a hold of her hand, still crouching on the ground, watching her.

"They need us to be strong.  _She_  needs us to be strong." looking over my shoulder, I turned to Vickie.

She kept looking out the window as she shrugged. "If you think I'm having a mental break down, I'm not."

**VPOV**

Walking ahead of everyone, gun tucked to my side, bat in hand, I felt my skin vibrating with energy. Nervous and angry alike. Why? Well, once again, the road was blocked. Only this time it was by a huge barricade of lumberd trees that had been laid out on the road.

"These tracks..." Eugene started as we came to a stop. "They would indicate they not only have people, but some big-ass toys and capabilities."

"I think that's the whole point." I noted. "They're showing us what they can do."

"What it indicates is that we are neck-deep up Shit Creek with our mouths wide open." Abraham stepped forward, looking to my dad.

Before any of us could say or do anything, the sound of chains and a yell had us spinning on our heels just in time to see a man fall from the bridge we'd parks under. He hung from the chain wrapped around his throat, grasping at it, trying to break free. It didn't take me a second to recognise the man. The spray painted cross on his chest was a dead giveaway.

When some of us raised our guns, Abraham stopped them from shooting.

"Don't."

"I could try and break the chain." Aaron insisted.

"It won't work." Abraham told him.

But Aaron was adamant. "I can try."

"It won't work." dad agreed. "We need the bullets."

Not caring about what anyone else thought, I pulled my gun out and aimed it at the man's head and shot, killing him.

We needed the bullets, but only if we were going to get the chance to use them. I was angry, but I wasn't an idiot. I could see how the day had gone. I could see what was happening. These people, they were a step ahead of us. They seemed to know what we were going to do before we did. So if we were going to kill them- or just beat them- it wasn't going to be today.

Dad turned to me. "What did I just say?"

Shoving my gun away, I shot hi an indifferent and unfazed glance. "Something tells me we won't get to use our bullets."

There was no need for that man to suffer any longer than he already had. What the Saviours must have put him through... not just today but over the time he'd been under their control... I thought he deserved a little bit of peace.

Turning back to the pile of tree trunks, we found that they were now on fire.

"You're treating your people good, right?" the Saviour leader's voice could be heard from over the other side of the barricade. "Like it was your last day on Earth? Or maybe one of theirs?" he paused before going on. "Better go. It's gonna get hot. You go get where you're going."

"Go." dad ordered. "Go."

We all turned and moved back to the RV, getting on. Dad and I were the last, once again, taking one more look at the burning wood before following the others.

 

...

 

"So what's the play?" Abraham asked as we all gathered around the table in the RV.

Dad came out from the back room after checking in on Maggie. "She needs a doctor." he noted. But honestly, he wasn't looking too good himself...

"There are two more routes north from here." Sasha told us as she read the map.

"They're probably waiting for us right now." Aaron noted.

Eugene shook his head. "So they're ahead of us, probably behind us, but they're not waiting on us per se. They're waiting on this rust bucket. They don't know the moment-to-moment occupancy of said rust bucket. And the sun sets soon." he turned to dad, Abraham and myself.

The three of us understood what he was trying to say, and as much as I'd probably never go with this idea at any other time, I knew our options were no longer limited but now non-existent.

**RPOV**

I walked around from the back of the RV, having just topped up the gas. "That's the last of it." I told Eugene, stopping in front of him. "If you see a car, try to siphon the gas. Other than that, you keep moving."

He nodded. "I'll have them thinking we're playing their game. All phases of the turn, level after level, move after move, I'll keep them spun. I assure you I will." with that I went to leave, but he stopped me. "I got something for you." he pulled out some papers from his pocket. "It's a recipe and it ain't gazpacho. 'How to build bullets 101'." he handed me the papers. "Abraham can show you where, just in case."

I looked down at them and then back to him. "Thank you for this. For all of it. We're lucky you're here."

"I won't argue with that."

I chuckled softly. I'd never really appreciated Eugene's vision to life. He was almost always a perky guy. Easily put down yes, but he bounced back even quicker.

Nodding to him one last time, I turned to the RV and headed inside, needing to finish getting ready to go. I walked into the back room where Vickie and Maggie were as the rest of our people waited by the table, prepping guns and weapons.

"We ready?" I asked Vickie.

She nodded. "I'm gonna stand point."

"No." I did not like the sound of that. "You stand next to me. You move with the rest of us. All right?"

But she just shook her head, adjusting her grip on her bat. "Dad, I really need to kill something right now. I need to feel useful and I need to let off steam."

Looking her up and down I could see there was nothing I could do. As much as I wanted to shelter her, as much as I wanted to protect her- even though she'd proven she didn't need me several times over now- I just wasn't ready to let her go, not after everything... But I couldn't always be there. I  _hadn't_  always been there, and it was about time I finally let her go.

"Okay." I nodded, stepping aside.

She looked shocked at first, like she was expecting me to put up a fight. But then she recovered and relaxed a little before walking out, looking ready for anything that might come our way.

**VPOV**

Dad, Sasha, Aaron and Abraham were carrying Maggie, who'd we'd laid out on a hand-made stretcher. Carl and I walked ahead of them, keeping an eye out for any walkers or other types of dangers. I lifted my bat and swung, hitting a walker and killing it without stopping. The goal was to keep moving, to get Maggie to the doctor as soon as possible. She was important to me and I didn't care if I had to carry her myself, I was going to help her get there.

"I heard what you told her when we were leaving." Carl spoke to dad. "We  _can_ do anything. So we'll do anything we need to do. We have and we will. What happened to Denise, I'm not gonna let anybody die like that again."

Carl had changed. It was both good and bad. He'd become hard. In a world like this, you had to be, I knew that. Hell, I'd become hard as well. But hearing my brother talk like that... My baby brother... It worried me to think someone who'd been so sweet and caring had turned into someone so cold and daring.

Dad sighed. "Son..."

"What?" Carl asked, like he didn't understand the tone in dad's voice.

That's when the whistling started.

It came from everywhere, surrounding us. I could hear them too, all the different tones. There had to be dozens of people out there, taunting us with the sweet bird like tune...

I spun around to look at everyone else. "Everybody move!"

We all started running, trying to get away as fast as possible. But with Maggie it was hard, and no matter how far we ran, the whistling just never stopped. Then, as we came to a clearing, big, bright lights turned on and it was like I was blind for a moment as the whistling intensified, more people joining in on the taunt.

When my sight came back I looked around us, seeing what looked to be a hundred or so people. Men and women, whistling and armed, all of them surrounding us in this open space, their vehicles edging the trees.

My grip on my bat changed as I stood defensively in front of my family, glaring at each and every one of them until my eyes landed on Eugene... he'd been beaten and was now kneeling on the ground by our RV...

"Good, you made it." the leader we'd met before stepped out of the crowd and into the light. "Welcome to where you're going. We'll take your weapons." he pulled out his gun, aiming it at Carl. "Now."

"We can talk about it." dad offered.

But the man just shook his head. "We're done talking. Time to listen." he stepped up to Carl as men came forward, each moving to one of us.

When a man stepped up to me, I glared at him. "I wouldn't touch me if I were you."

He grinned and lifted his hand, slapping me across the face. I knew in an instant that the cut on my cheek had been opened again as I felt blood begin to trickle down my face.

Shaking my head, I turned to glare at him again. "You're gonna regret that."

But before he could do anything, the leader stopped him. "I got her." he said before he turned back to Carl, taking the gun tucked in my brother pants. "That's yours, right?" he nodded. "Yeah, it's yours." he flicked Carl's hat up a little.

There wasn't much holding me back. I really wanted to kill this guy. Especially seeing him that close to my brother...

Turning to me, the leader gestured to my bat. "You got anything else?" I pulled out my gun and tossed it on to the ground like I didn't care. He chuckled. "I'll take that." he took the bat from my grasp as he turned to the others. "Okay, let's get her down and get you all on your knees. Lots to cover." he nodded behind me.

I knew he was talking about Maggie. But he stayed in front of me, and everything inside me said not to turn my back. So I kept facing him, even though I wanted to help with Maggie. Knowing my dad and the others could help her eased my mind a little.

"Hold up, we got it." I heard Abraham say. To whom, I did not know.

The leader nodded. "Sure, sure." there was a moment before he then turned his attention to me. "Now let's get you folks on the ground." he said, grabbing my arm.

His grip wasn't as tight as I expected, though it was still firm. As he tugged me along, I found he wasn't as forceful as I'd thought either. But I still didn't fight against him. I knew better than that. We weren't in the position to be resisting.

Leading us closer to the RV he stopped and let me go before turning back to look at the others. Sure enough I could see them in the corner of my eye. Dad and Abraham were helping Maggie walk. The others followed. A Saviour grabbed Eugene and pulled him to his feet, leading him to the rest of us. We were all in a line, facing the RV.

"Gonna need you on your knees." the leader told us, looking right at dad.

Seeing we had no choice, I turned to Abraham. "Here, I got her." I told him, taking his place.

Abraham moved to my right while Maggie was on my left. Then it was dad, Sasha, Aaron, Carl and Eugene. One by one, we all got down on our knees, kneeling for these monsters.

"Let's get the other ones right now." the leader turned to the crowd. "Dwight?"

"Yeah." a voice called back, making my blood boil.

The leader turned to him. "Chop-chop."

Dwight stepped out of the crowd, carrying Daryl's crossbow. He looked to us, his eyes locking on to mine for a moment longer than they did the others. I shifted on the spot, curling my fists, wanting him dead more than anyone else in the vicinity.

Dwight stepped up to a van, opening the back of it. "Come on, you got people to meet." he reached in, pulling someone out.

Everything inside me stopped at the sight of Daryl. He looked sick, almost dead... He had a blanket thrown over him, but I could see the blood under it, on his neck.

As Dwight pulled him to the rest of us and threw him to the ground by Abraham, I couldn't stop my mouth from opening.

"Daryl?"

It was like he'd only just realised the rest of us were there as he looked to each face until his eyes landed on mine. The look he gave me broke my heart, seeing him so helpless. All my fears of what could happen came flooding to me as I looked to the love of my life. I'd never felt to helpless. You could do anything you wanted to me. But my family? If they were hurt or killed, it would break me.

Michonne, Rosita and Glenn were pulled from the van as well, dragged to join the line. I looked from one end to the other... Glenn, Rosita, Daryl, Michonne, Abraham, myself, Maggie, dad, Sasha, Aaron, Carl, Eugene. We were all here.

Glenn's eyes landed on his wife in an instant. "Maggie?"

Maggie shifted on the spot, reaching for my hand. I took it, not only for her, but for myself. Seeing this many of my loved ones like this was beginning to chip away at the rage I had. Only to replace it with cold, hard, fear.

"On your knees!" Dwight ordered as Glenn struggled against him.

The leader nodded. "All right! We got a full boat. Let's meet the man." he stepped up to the RV door, knocking on it.

Walking back, he threw Carl's gun on the floor in front of my brother before moving to stand in front of me, dropping my bat there. Then he walked past Abraham and myself, moving out of sight, just as the RV door opened.

A man stepped out. He wore a black leather jacket and tight jeans. With boots, and a red scarf that wrapped around his neck and tucked into his jacket. Dark hair, stubble on his face. Tall, fit and muscular. He was attractive, yes, but he also had a menacing look to him. The fact there was a barbed wire wrapped baseball bat resting on his shoulder made him look more threatening and dangerous.

I had no doubt that this was Negan.

"We pissing our pants yet?" he grinned. Walking forward, he looked to all of us. "Boy, do I have a feeling we're getting close." he moved to Eugene as he started to walk the line. "Yep. Gonna be Pee-Pee-Pants City here real soon." he stopped. "Which one of you pricks is the leader?"

"It's those two." the leader answered from behind us.

Negan looked from dad, to me, and then back to dad. "Hi, you're Rick, right? I'm Negan. And I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed  _more_ of my people. Not cool." he shook his head. "Not fucking cool. You have no fucking idea how not fucking cool that shit is. But I think you're gonna be up to speed here shortly. Yeah. You are  _so_ gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes." he grinned. "Fuck yeah, you are."

His eyes turned to mine for a moment. I held his gaze, seeing his grin widened. "You see, Rick, whatever you do, no matter fucking what, you don't mess with the new world order." he turned his attention back to my dad. "New world order is this, and it's really very simple. So, even if you're fucking stupid, which you very may well be, you can understand it. You ready? Here it goes. Pay attention." he changed the grip on his bat, bringing it forward to rest on dad's shoulder. "Give me your shit or I will kill you."

He turned to the rest of us, pacing the line again. "Today was Career Day. We invested a lot so you would know who I am and what I can do." he pointed his bat at dad. "You work for me now. You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job. Now I know that is a mighty big, nasty pill to swallow. But swallow it you most certainly mother fucking will." he lowered his bat. "You ruled the roost. You built something. You thought you were safe. I get it. But the word is out, you are not safe. Not even fucking close. In fact, you are fucked. More fucked if you don't do what I want. And what I want is half your shit. And if that's too much you can go make, find or steal more and it'll even out sooner or later."

He gestured around us. "This is your way of life now. The more you fight back the harder it will be. So if someone knocks on your door." he chuckled. "You fucking let us in. We own that fucking door. You try to fucking stop us, we will fucking knock that fucker down. You understand?"

Dad said nothing. He just sat there. I looked over at him and couldn't believe what I was seeing. A man I saw as a strong leader and protector, was now kneeling there with a pale white face, terror clear in his eyes.

Negan stopped in front of dad and leaned forward when he was met by silence. "What? No answer?" he stepped back ."You don't really think that you were gonna get through this without being punished now, did you? I don't want to kill you people. Just want to make that clear from the get-go. I want you to work for me. You can't do that if you're fuckin' dead, now, can you?" he shook his head. "I'm not growing a garden."

He shrugged. "But you killed my people. A whole fucking damn shit load of 'em. More than I'm comfortable with. And for that, for that you're gonna fuckin' pay. So now..." his grin fell. "I'm gonna beat the holy fuck, fucking fuckity fuck out of one of you." just like that his grin was back as he swung his bat around in a circle before grabbing her with both hands. "This... this is Lucille, and she is awesome. All this... all this is just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honour." he started pacing again until he stopped in front of Abraham.

Abraham sat up straighter, showing no fear towards Negan or his men.

Negan nodded. "Huh." he lifted a hand to the stubble on his cheeks. "Ugh, I gotta shave this shit." he kept walking, coming to Carl. "You got one of our guns." he kicked the gun closer to Carl as he crouched down, grabbing it. "Yeah, you got a lot of our guns."

My grip on Maggie's hand tightened as I watched the man look into the eyes of my little brother. But Carl, he didn't look scared. He didn't look anything but pissed, ready to rip the man apart.

"Shit, kid." Negan shook his head. "Lighten up. At least cry a little." he chuckled, standing again and tucking the gun away. Walking once more, he came to Maggie. "Je-sus! You look fucking shitty. I should just put you out of your misery right now." he lifted his bat.

"No! No! No!" Glenn got to his feet, moving to grab Negan.

Dwight stopped Glenn before anything happened, pushing my friend back to the ground and aiming Daryl's crossbow at his head.

"Stop it!" Maggie cried, her hand letting go of mine as she reached out for Glenn, though stayed where she was.

Negan shook his head. "Nope. Nope, get him back in line." he ordered.

Dwight did as he was told, dragging a struggling Glenn back to his spot.

"Don't." Glenn begged as he sobbed. "Don't."

Negan chuckled, nodding. "All right, listen. Don't any of you do that again. I will shut that shit down, no exceptions. First one's free, it's an emotional moment." he smiled at Glenn. "I get it."

I shook my head, looking away from him.

"What about you, Sweetheart?" Negan asked as he knelt in front of me, grabbing my bat. "Sucks, don't it? The moment you realise you don't know shit." I looked up at him, meeting his gaze, holding his stare. Something flashed in his eyes before he looked over to Carl and then dad. "Hold on..." he got to his feet, stepping back. "These are your kids, right?" he pointed my bat at me and his bat at Carl as he talked to dad. He laughed. "These are definitely your kids."

"Just stop this!" dad snapped.

"Hey!" Negan shook his head. "Do not make me kill the hottie and little future serial killer. Don't make it easy on me." he shrugged as he dropped my bat behind him. "I got to pick somebody. Everybody's at the table waiting for me to order." he nodded as he began to whistle, walking the line again. "I simply cannot decide." he chuckled, thinking it over for a moment before speaking again. "I got an idea." he stepped up to dad. "Eeny..."

It was at that moment that my fear and rage about evened out...

"Meeny..."

As he stopped by each person, I couldn't breathe...

"Miney..."

I couldn't move...

"Mo..."

Frozen, cursed to watch as he made his choice...

"Catch..."

Watching this man stop in front of each of my friends...

"A tiger..."

My family...

"By..."

The people who kept me going in this world...

"His toe..."

People who meant the world to me...

"If..."

The thought of losing even one of them...

"He hollers..."

It made my stomach churn...

"Let him go..."

My insides twisted and tugged...

"My mother..."

My head spun...

"Told me..."

My heart thrummed hard...

"To pick..."

Every fibre in my being screamed...

"The very..."

Yet I did nothing...

"Best..."

I could do nothing...

"One..."

We were all helpless,  _hopeless_...

"And you..."

It dawned on me right at that moment...

"Are..."

I'd known for some time, but it was now that I realised...

He stopped looking to everyone until he made up his mind, stepping up to his choice. "It."

One of us was going to die.

**The End...**

 

**Bamby**


End file.
